masked mannequins
Mannequins are covered with unique masks at several shops on the Lessi Mariam Street in Kabul. A shopkeeper in his shop has covered the face of a mannequin dressed in a purple dress studded with shells with a mask of the same colour. At another shop, a mannequin dressed in a red gown with gold embroidery has its face covered with a red velvet cloth mask and a crown on its head. “I cannot cover the head and face of the mannequins with plastic or anything that looks unsightly because it will not make my shop look good either,” Bashir, a shopkeeper, told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. ‘
Turning threat and restriction into opportunity
The economy has suffered a lot under Taliban rule. Basheer said that the sales of shopkeepers have halved. Hakim, another shopkeeper, has covered the faces of mannequins in his shop with aluminum foil. He said, ‘I turned this threat and restriction into an opportunity and did such a thing, which made the mannequins look even more attractive than before.’ However, many shopkeepers have not been able to make a difference. At a shop, mannequins were seen covered with black plastic sheets.
The woman said – the mannequins are in ‘imprisonment’
Some of the mannequins in the shops also have their faces covered. This indicates that the authorities are uniformly implementing these orders. A woman shopping on Lacey Merriam Street said, ‘When I look at them (the mannequins), I feel that these mannequins are also captive and trapped. I feel scared.’ ‘In these shops I see myself, an Afghan woman who has been denied her rights,’ she said.
