Hair sales so sensitive that ministry which handles morality issues burnt tonne of human strands in January
KABUL
Until Taliban authorities took power in Afghanistan, women like Fatima were able to freely sell their hair to be made into wigs, bringing in crucial cash.
But a ban last year has forced the 28-year-old and others to covertly trade hair — collected from shower drains or the salon floor — braving the risk of punishment one strand at a time.
“I need this money,” said Fatima, 28, one of the few women still in paid private employment in Kabul after the Taliban regained control in 2021.
“I can treat myself to something or buy things for the house.”
The woman, who withholds her last name for security reasons, sells every 100 grams of hair for little more than $3, a small addition to her monthly salary of $100.
Buyers who want to export the locks for wig production abroad “would knock on our doors to collect” the hair, she said.
One of those buyers is a man, who also requested anonymity, sending the manes to Pakistan and China from Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries.
Taliban authorities have cracked down on the rights of women, imposing what the UN calls a “gender apartheid”.
They banned women and girls from universities and schools, effectively strangling their employment hopes.
Women have also been barred from parks and gyms, while beauty salons have been shut down.
