Afghanistan’s Taliban government used live fire to disperse a protest in the western city of Herat over new restrictions on women, eyewitnesses told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.
One eyewitness said that at least one person was killed and several were wounded in the protest led by women’s rights activists. RFE/RL could not independently verify the claim.
The militant Islamist group, which seized power in 2021, denied its security forces used gunfire to disperse the demonstrators.
The small protest on June 9 came after members of the Taliban’s notorious morality police reportedly arrested or detained several women for violating new restrictions over women’s public appearances.
In a directive issued last week, the Taliban prohibited women from appearing in public without what they described as a “proper hijab,” or Islamic head scarf.
Women who failed to comply with the Islamic dress code, including those showing their faces or wearing makeup -- would face punitive measures, according to the directive.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has expressed concern over the crackdown on women in Herat for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s new directive.
"UNAMA is concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat...for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements, which raises serious human rights concerns," UNAMA said in a post on X on June 7.
Taliban authorities in Herat denied that there have been mass detentions.
Crackdown On Women
Protests are rare under the Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist since regaining power. The group has waged a violent crackdown on dissent, arresting, beating, and torturing activists and journalists, according to human rights groups.
Women have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s attempts to impose their extreme version of Islam on the war-torn country of some 40 million people.
The hard-line group has largely erased women from public life and imposed severe restrictions on their appearances, freedom of movement, and right to work and study.
In November, the Taliban barred female patients, visitors, and medical staff who do not wear the all-encompassing burqa from entering public hospitals in Herat, the country’s third largest city. It is unclear if the measure has been extended nationwide.
In August 2024, the Taliban enacted a morality law that imposed severe restrictions on women. Under the law, women are required to fully cover their faces and bodies when in public and are banned from wearing "transparent, tight, or short" clothing.
The enforcement of the extremist group’s laws, however, has been sporadic and uneven across the country and often left to the discretion of local Taliban leaders.
Many Afghan women wear a hijab, or Islamic head scarf, which covers the head and neck. In addition, some women wear a face mask to conceal their nose and mouth.
Other women don the burqa or an Islamic abaya robe and niqab that covers the hair, body, and most of the face. The latter is common in Arab countries in the Persian Gulf.
Afghan women, especially those in urban areas, consider the burqa and niqab to be alien to Afghan culture. Before the Taliban’s return to power, many women wore loose headscarves that only concealed their hair.
