The Taliban governor of Herat province has issued a new order making it compulsory for women to wear the burqa to receive public services or enter markets, hospitals, or government offices, according to local sources.
The directive, issued by Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar, instructs all district and municipal administrations to prevent women without burqas from entering public or private institutions.
Local sources said the order was enforced on Tuesday, and since then, dozens of women have been denied access to offices, hospitals, and shopping centres. Many were reportedly turned away after waiting for hours to meet detained relatives or receive medical treatment.
Witnesses said Taliban personnel at the Herat Provincial Hospital stopped women, including doctors and patients, from entering the premises. Several women were allegedly beaten for not wearing the burqa, even though they were already dressed in full hijab.
Videos circulating on social media show a large number of women and their attendants gathered outside hospital gates, pleading for entry.
The burqa, which covers a woman’s entire body including her eyes, has gradually been reimposed under the Taliban’s “Enjoining Right and Forbidding Evil” law. The law prohibits women from appearing in public without the Taliban-approved dress, restricts their voices in public spaces, and bars them from travelling without a male guardian.
The local Taliban office in Herat has not yet commented on the new restrictions.
