Photo shows posters of women at a Kabul beauty salon being painted over as the Taliban seized the city

When they last ruled, the Taliban forced women to cover their faces and barred them from schools.

A photo posted online on Sunday shows images of women at a Kabul beauty salon being painted over as the Taliban took over the city.

The photo was shared by Lotfullah Najafizada, the head of the Afghan news outlet Tolonews TV, on Sunday:

The Taliban stormed Kabul on Sunday after taking over most of the rest of the country and seized control of the presidential palace.

It put the militant Islamist group back in power 20 years after they were driven out by US-led forces.

• Another life-saving Covid treatment found
• Belarus: IOC expels two coaches over Krystina Timanovskaya case

There was no official confirmation as to why the images of the women were covered up, but it is likely that it was done so to appease the Taliban.

When the Taliban last ruled Afghanistan, they forbade women from working or attending school.

Women had to cover their faces and were punished if they did not do so. They were also barred from leaving their homes unless they were accompanied by a male relative.

Many women in Afghanistan now say they are afraid of how they will be treated during Taliban rule and fear the loss of their freedoms and rights.

Women who worked as politicians or activists also said they now fear reprisals.

Some women in Kabul started buying burqas that cover their entire bodies, including their faces, as the Taliban approached the city.