Kabul's hooded mannequins under Taliban rules - in pictures

Initially the political movement wanted the figures to be beheaded, but they have since been covered up

Mannequin's heads are covered in a women's dress store store in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Dec. 26, 2022. Under the Taliban, the mannequins in women's dress shops across the Afghan capital Kabul are a haunting sight, their heads cloaked in cloth sacks or wrapped in black plastic bags. The hooded mannequins are one symbol of the Taliban's puritanical rule over Afghanistan (AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi)

When the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they wanted mannequins to be outright beheaded

Some clothes sellers complied. But others pushed back

The Taliban eventually allowed shop owners to cover mannequins’ heads

Today, merchants balance between obeying the Taliban and trying to attract customers

The hooded mannequins are a show of creativity by Kabul’s dress merchants

Mannequins in evening gowns and dresses — and all in various types of head coverings

Elaborate dresses have always been popular in Afghanistan for weddings

The Ministry of Vice and Virtue regularly patrol shops to make sure mannequins are beheaded or covered

“When I see [a hooded mannequin], I feel they are also captured and trapped, and I get a sense of fear,” said a woman who only gave her first name, Rahima

Shop owner Hakim uses aluminium foil to cover his mannequins’ heads. It adds creative appeal, he says

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