Women in Afghanistan staged a rare protest against the Taliban’s decision to close women’s beauty salons.

Women chanted “work, bread and justice” as they gathered in the capital, Kabul.

Taliban guards responded with water cannons and some female protesters said firearms were also used against them.

Women’s rights have been increasingly curtailed since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

About 50 women took part in the protest on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency.

The Taliban have given businesses a month from July 2 to close thousands of beauty salons across the country.

They said wearing wigs and getting their eyebrows done was against Islamic values ​​and parents were wasting money on beauty salons when the couples got married.

The decision further limits the spaces accessible to Afghan women, who are already barred from classrooms, gyms and parks. More recently, the Taliban also banned them from working for the United Nations.

The closure of all beauty salons will result in the loss of 60,000 jobs, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce said.

The beauty salons were last closed when the Taliban ruled between 1996 and 2001. They remained open after the Taliban regained power two years ago when US forces left, but shop windows were often boarded up and pictures of women outside salons they were spray painted to hide their faces.

The Taliban’s imposition of restrictions on women, including strict dress codes and restrictions on traveling alone, has continued despite international condemnation.

There have been small sporadic protests against the measures introduced by the Taliban, but any form of dissent is being suppressed.