From under the veil to under the knife: women, cosmetic surgery, and the politics of choice in Afghanistan

This study investigates the factors motivating women in Afghanistan to seek cosmetic surgery through qualitative in-depth interviews with 16 consumers of cosmetic surgery. Providing a discussion of contemporary life for women in Afghanistan during a time of social and political change, where many suggest women have more freedom and opportunities available to them following the fall of the Taliban and the US-led intervention, this study explores the extent to which post-feminist discourses of empowerment and choice are reflected in these experiences. While some have attributed the consumption of cosmetic surgery among Afghan women to newly granted freedom, this perspective presents cosmetic surgery as an individual choice rather than a response to the complex systems that promote limited beauty ideals. When challenged, this empowerment discourse dissolves to reveal the complexity of body-altering practices. The case of cosmetic surgery in Afghanistan comments on the complex global beauty economy through discussions of the post-feminist politics of choice, ethnic/class politics, and consumerism.