Panic due to Taliban’s strictness in Herat, morality police took to the streets to enforce dress code on women

Kabul. Amidst the increasing restrictions on women in Afghanistan, a worrying picture has once again emerged from the western city Herat. Morality of Taliban Police launched a massive campaign to enforce strict dress code for women, after which an atmosphere of fear and tension was created in the city. According to locals, armed officers were seen stopping vehicles on the roads and checking the attire of women and allegedly detaining those who did not follow the rules.

According to reports, teams of Taliban’s ‘Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Corruption’ (PVPV) conducted a special operation in Herat on Saturday. During this period, buses, taxis and private vehicles were checked. It is alleged that women not wearing chadar or burqa were stopped, interrogated and in many cases even detained. Eyewitnesses claimed that some officers were seen patrolling the streets with weapons and whips.

Local women told international media that the situation has become so dire that people are avoiding leaving their homes. One woman claimed that she saw officers forcing some women into the vehicle even though they were wearing hijab, niqab and abaya. According to another eyewitness, many vehicles were stopped and the clothes of the women sitting inside were being checked.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed concern over this development. The mission issued a statement saying that reports of women being detained on the basis of alleged violation of the dress code are a matter of grave concern. The United Nations has appealed to the Taliban administration to respect the basic rights of women and stop arbitrary actions.

After the campaign, it has come to light that the public presence of women in the city is very less. Local taxi drivers say that they have been warned not to allow women without the prescribed dress code to board their vehicles. Due to this, the movement of women has become further limited.

It is noteworthy that after returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban government has been continuously imposing new restrictions on women’s education, employment and public activities. The Taliban’s policies have been consistently criticized internationally, including restrictions on girls’ higher education, restrictions on women’s work in many sectors, limited access to public places and travel rules.

However, the Taliban administration says the dress code and other rules are part of Islamic law and the country’s system. At the same time, human rights organizations allege that due to these steps, women in Afghanistan are gradually being excluded from public life and the situation is becoming like the Taliban rule of the 1990s.