For many, a wedding is a day of celebration and happiness. But in Afghanistan, even these moments are now being restricted.
On July 23, 2026, the Taliban introduced new restrictions on wedding and engagement ceremonies. The restrictions were announced the next day in Friday sermons by the Taliban’s Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs and the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The directive bans brides from wearing makeup, perfume and hair extensions, as well as from visiting beauty parlours. Couples are also prohibited from exchanging rings and applying henna to each other’s hands.
The Taliban justify these restrictions through their interpretation of Islamic law. They describe customs such as ring exchanges as Western influences. To preserve moral purity, they deem segregation of unrelated men and women necessary, banning mixed gatherings. Existing restrictions on music, singing, dancing and fireworks at weddings were also reinforced.
Alongside these new restrictions, Afghan women continue to face many existing measures that affect their daily lives. Beauty parlours were previously forced to close across the country, leading to the loss of around 60,000 jobs. Women and girls also continue to face restrictions on education, employment and participation in public life.
The broader impacts of these restrictions have also been documented by international organisations. UNESCO has reported that around 2.4 million Afghan girls are currently excluded from secondary education, making Afghanistan the only country in the world where girls and women are formally prohibited from education beyond the primary level. These restrictions limit their access to further education and employment opportunities.
The Taliban’s policies have faced criticism from Muslim countries. At the 9th Ministerial Conference on Women in Islamabad, the 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) adopted a 32-point resolution expressing concern over the treatment of Afghan women. The resolution called on Afghanistan to ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in public life in accordance with Islamic values.
The statement is significant because the Taliban has repeatedly justified its policies through its interpretation of Islamic law, while the OIC has argued that restrictions on women and girls are inconsistent with Islamic values.
The Taliban did not attend the conference after the OIC requested an authorised female representative from Afghanistan. The Taliban’s white banner was also not displayed at the conference, with Afghanistan instead represented by its traditional tricolour flag.
Following the conference, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the idea that Afghanistan should define women’s rights according to the demands of international organisations. He argued that the Taliban would not accept rights or recommendations that it considers to be contrary to Islam or reflective of Western culture. The Taliban hold the stance that Shariah is sufficient to protect the rights of women.
Thus, the disagreement is not limited to wedding traditions. It reflects a wider disagreement over how Islamic values should be interpreted and applied to women’s lives.
Afghanistan’s new wedding restrictions may concern makeup, rings, henna and celebrations, but they also raise a broader question: when the state begins deciding how people should dress, celebrate and practise their traditions, where does religious guidance end and state control begin?