Overview
- Local monitors and news outlets reported that Taliban morality police detained at least 16 to 21 women in Herat for allegedly violating a new directive on a “proper hijab.”
- Witnesses said security forces broke up a rare protest in Herat on Tuesday with sticks, whips and live fire, and they reported injuries and possible deaths while provincial officials denied mass arrests or shootings.
- The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice described reports of arrests as “rumors,” creating conflicting accounts between officials and independent monitors.
- United Nations officials including UNAMA and the UN special rapporteur condemned the detentions and what they called excessive force and urged immediate releases and accountability.
- The episode highlights a broader pattern of tightening limits on Afghan women’s education, work and public life since 2021 and could further reduce women’s access to services and public roles.