The Taliban have detained several women and girls in Afghanistan’s western city of Herat over alleged violations of the group’s dress code, in a move highlighting the continuing restrictions on women despite international calls for their rights and freedom to work.
The detentions took place on Thursday near Mostofiat Square, where the Taliban’s morality police were patrolling a local market and identifying women before taking them away in vehicles.
According to local sources, female personnel from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, including women wearing veils, also participated in the operation.
A vehicle carrying Taliban personnel was reportedly filled with women and girls detained from different parts of the city.
The exact number of those detained remains unknown, and no information has emerged regarding their whereabouts or condition.
The latest detentions come amid continued international calls for the Taliban to lift restrictions on women and allow them to participate in public life, including humanitarian work.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher recently stressed that Afghanistan remained a major global humanitarian priority and called on the Taliban to allow female aid workers to carry out their duties.
However, restrictions on women’s clothing and freedom of movement have continued to tighten in Herat in recent months, with repeated reports of women being detained for allegedly violating the Taliban’s dress code.
In June, the detention of women over alleged dress code violations triggered protests in Herat’s Jebrail township, where at least two people were killed.
The latest incident underscores the continuing gap between international demands for women’s rights and the restrictions imposed by the Taliban.
