Taliban Bans Female Mannequin Heads As It Is Un-Islamic

Taliban Bans Female Mannequin: The Taliban in Afghanistan has ordered business owners to remove mannequin heads in their stores. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice said that the figures representing human form violate Islamic law.

Head of the ministry in the province of Herat, Aziz Rahman, said that the mannequin heads which according to him are statutes should be deformed because they were un-Islamic.

“These are the statues — they are defined in the (holy) books and should not be in Islam. These were being worshipped. They (the shopkeepers) said that they display the clothes on them,” said the chief of Herat's department of virtue and vice.

Even covering the mannequin's heads with cloth was not permitted and would still be imposed with grave penalties.

The Taliban have ordered shop owners in western Afghanistan to cut the heads off mannequins, insisting figures representing the human form violate Islamic law.

This bizarre order has left the business owners very unhappy as they are terrified of losing out on sales and even defacing the mannequins is already costing them dearly.

"We have 15 mannequins in our shops and have been forced to chop off their heads. We have lost between 2-3,000 AFN ($19-28) for each of them. When there is no mannequin, how can we sell our stock to customers?" bemoaned a shopkeeper in Herat.

Marzia Babkarkhail, a campaigner for Afghan women's rights residing in the United Kingdom said,  “It is brutal. This is the kind of behavior of children. Not of a government leading a country. This shows the nasty face of the Taliban."

“If the Taliban cannot accept a doll, how can they accept a woman with a voice to be in Afghanistan,” she added.

Taliban and Women Rights: 

On November 21, 2021, a directive had been issued which dictates a ban on showing female actors on television. The directive also mandated women television journalists to wear a hijab while presenting news.

On December 26, the Afghanistan authorities put out a circular stating that women will not be allowed to travel more than 72 kilometers alone and they need to keep a company of a male relative. The circular also mentioned that women without headscarves will not be given rides in Afghanistan.

Women and girls without a close male relative accompanying them were banned from entering coffee shops in Herat province of Afghanistan.

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