FROM THE outside the Arvin Hospital in Kabul is unassuming. Tucked away in a residential neighbourhood, it looks like a pharmacy. Yet enter the warren of treatment rooms and offices concealed behind the facade and you discover a quiet revolution. For prices that range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, Afghans can get a rhinoplasty (a nose job), a blepharoplasty (tautening the skin around the eyes), hair implants or liposuction.Afghanistan is tormented by a brutal war between the government and the insurgents of the Taliban, which has intensified over the past year despite the initiation of peace talks between the two sides. At the edges of Kabul, the Taliban launch attacks nightly on army and police outposts. But for many Kabulis, the war on their doorstep is no reason to neglect their appearance. Some are turning to gyms, of which dozens dot the city, promising su-perheroic bodies. Shops stock huge bottles of imported protein powder. Cosmetic dentistry is also thriving; many clinics offer a "Hollywood smile", with veneers made in the United Arab Emirates.
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