Overview
- Herat’s Department for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice issued a stricter directive in early June requiring near-total covering of women’s bodies and banning makeup with penalties for noncompliance.
- Morality police detained at least 30 women for alleged dress violations between June 6 and 7, including a female MSF medical worker who was held for two days and released only after signing a clothing pledge.
- A rare street protest in Herat’s Injil district on Tuesday, June 9, was dispersed by security forces who witnesses and rights groups say beat demonstrators and fired on crowds, causing multiple injuries and at least one confirmed child death.
- UN agencies, UN-appointed rights experts, Human Rights Watch and MSF have publicly condemned the detentions and use of force, called for releases, and urged prompt independent investigations and accountability.
- Authorities have increased checkpoints, military convoys and house searches across Herat, raising fears that the crackdown will deepen stigma for released detainees, reduce women’s access to services such as health care, and further shrink civic space.