- By Shivangi Sharma
- Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:25 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In Afghanistan, cosmetic surgery is going on discreetly under strict Taliban prohibitions against women's liberties. Kabul clinics keep on providing the procedures from facelifts to Botox injections and have a client base that is usually wealthy and bent on looking their best, even under full-body cover.
Foreign physicians, especially Turkish physicians, come to Kabul to educate local practitioners, who also complete internships in Istanbul. Most of the equipment is imported from Asia and Europe and permits clinics to function with up-to-date standards. Despite the political and social limitations, there are about 20 cosmetic surgery clinics functioning in the capital.
Waiting Rooms
The waiting rooms demonstrate the client diversity. Men, who come for thinning or baldness, accompany women who typically come dressed in full burqas. Heavy makeup under their head-to-toe attire is common in many female clients, showing the significance attributed to individual appearance despite being out of sight from the public eye.
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For 25-year-old Silsila Hamidi, cosmetic surgery has been a way of self-expression and empowerment. She just had her second facelift, attributing drooping skin on the face to stress from the pressures of being an Afghan woman. "Even if other people can't see us, we see ourselves: feeling beautiful in the mirror gives us energy," Hamidi told AFP. Hamidi, a graduate of medical school, has characterised her dermatological battles as an echo of the greater stress Afghan women endure.
Salons Banned, Clinics Remain Open
The cosmetic surgery industry stands in stark contrast to other beauty treatments. In July of 2023, the Taliban prohibited beauty salons and hairdressers nationwide, with forced closure within a month. Kabul alone had 12,000–13,000 salons at the time, and they were crucial not just as a means of income for women but also as arenas for socialisation and empowerment. The salons represented freedom and independence to the United Nations and Afghan women's organisations, but the Taliban called them "immoral."
Botox Under Burqa Becomes a Trend
Even with these limitations, women manage to gain access to cosmetic procedures. Botox and facelifts are still allowed, and some women view these procedures as a significant means of personal control in a system that severely limits their movement, work, and public visibility.