Through the Lens: Kabul's Mannequins, Hooded and Masked Under Taliban Rules
KABUL — Under the Taliban, the mannequins in women's dress shops across the Afghan capital of Kabul are a haunting sight, their heads cloaked in cloth sacks or wrapped in black plastic bags.
But in a way, they are also a small show of resistance and creativity by Kabul's dress merchants.
Initially, the Taliban wanted the mannequins to be outright beheaded.
The shop owners complained they'd be unable to display their clothes properly or would have to damage valuable mannequins. The Taliban had to amend their order and allowed the shop owners to cover the mannequins' heads instead.
Shop owners then had to balance between obeying the Taliban and trying to attract customers. The variety of solutions they came up with are on display on Lycee Maryam Street, a middle-class commercial street lined with dress shops in a northern part of Kabul.
The store windows and showrooms are lined with mannequins in evening gowns and dresses bursting with color and decoration — and all in various types of head coverings.
In one shop, the mannequins' heads were cloaked in tailored sacks made out of the same material as the traditional dresses they modeled.
In a purple dress beaded with cowrie shells, had a matching purple hood.
Another, in a red gown elaborately embroidered in gold, was almost elegant in a mask of red velvet with a gold crown on her head.
Elaborate dresses have always been popular in Afghanistan for weddings, which even before the Taliban were usually gender-segregated, giving women a chance to dress in their finest in the country's conservative society. Under the Taliban, weddings are one of the few remaining opportunities for social gatherings.
Not all can be so elaborate. In one shop, the mannequins in sleeveless gowns all had black plastic sacks over their heads.
Shop owners use everything from tailored cloth to tin foil to mask their mannequins, hoping to still keep their windows attractive to draw customers in at a time of economic collapse.
