KABUL — Afghan security officials dispersed a women's rights protest in the western province of Herat on Tuesday that began after Taliban morality police detained women accused of violating mandatory dress rules, residents said. Witnesses reported one person killed, several others wounded, and dozens of people, including women and girls, arrested.
Police Deny Arrests and Deaths
Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesperson for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering in the Jebrail area had “created tensions” and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation. Bakhtar quoted Sheikh Azizur Rahman Al-Muhajir, head of Herat’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, as saying reports that women had been arrested for failing to observe hijab rules were untrue. He said inspectors carried out their duties by providing guidance and raising awareness about the Islamic hijab.
Background of Restrictions
Since seizing power in Kabul in 2021, the Taliban has imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls in the war-shattered country, including limits on access to education, employment, and sport, drawing widespread international criticism. Herat, long regarded as one of Afghanistan’s most socially and culturally vibrant cities, has undergone significant changes.
Witnesses said the protests erupted when morality officials attempted to arrest women opposing the mandatory dress requirements. Some residents said officials targeted women who were already observing the required dress code, which includes fully covering the face and body. Video, unverified by Reuters, showed armed officials breaking up the demonstration, which included fully veiled women among the protesters. In one clip, people ran for cover as gunshots were heard in the background.
International Reactions
On Monday, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed concern over reports of women detained in western Afghanistan for allegedly failing to meet dress requirements. The mission urged Taliban authorities to respect freedom of movement and equality before the law. The Taliban says it respects women’s rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law.
Medics told the BBC two people died, but did not specify how. A number of others at the protest were injured. Both men and women had taken to the streets days after local Taliban government officials reportedly began arresting women perceived to be “improperly wearing the hijab.” Police in Herat denied there had been any deaths, but acknowledged they responded to the protest, telling the BBC that officers had “taken action to ensure security and maintain public order.”
Witnesses say the police opened fire, but the police did not confirm this when asked directly by the BBC. One protester told AFP that the security forces “used sticks, whips and firearms to disperse the crowd. They even fired shots into the air.” He told the news agency he saw people wounded. “People are extremely frightened,” he said. AFP also quoted a photographer who said he had seen security forces “striking protesters and firing weapons in the direction of the crowd.”
Gunfire can be clearly heard in videos circulating online, while women can be heard screaming “don’t beat them.” In one clip, some protesters can be heard chanting “education, work, freedom,” the BBC’s Afghan service reported.
UN Rapporteur Alarmed
Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said on social media site X he was “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today,” calling on those responsible to be “held accountable.”
Protests against the Taliban, especially by women, have been rare in Afghanistan since they retook power in August 2021. Initial attempts by women to defy the strict new rules brought in to control everything from their clothes to their education petered out, with women telling the BBC they were cowed by officials’ response to their protests — including being beaten, abused, jailed, and even threatened with death by stoning.
The wearing of a hijab is one of many rules brought in by the Taliban, who made it mandatory in May 2022. However, this latest crackdown in Herat was reportedly only announced on Friday. A number of eyewitnesses told BBC Afghan that since Saturday they had “seen with their own eyes women being arrested for not wearing the hijab.” One woman said the markets had since been “deserted,” while another told BBC Afghan that officers from the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the so-called morality police, were checking cars and rickshaws for women wearing the hijab improperly.
City officials have given conflicting accounts on whether or not women were being detained, with the Herat Provincial Information and Culture Department saying reports of dozens of arrests were “incorrect and rumored.”
