On Friday, 19 Saratan, the Taliban once again detained a number of women on Herat City’s 64-Meter Road, allegedly for what they described as “failure to observe proper hijab.” Local sources say that Taliban officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice transferred the detained women to an undisclosed location.
According to sources, at least two patrol vehicles belonging to the Taliban’s morality enforcement authorities were present on 64-Meter Road and detained several women. The sources added that the vehicles were filled with detained women, but the exact number of those arrested remains unknown.
64-Meter Road, also known among some Herat residents as “Juma Bazaar,” is one of the city’s busiest areas. On Fridays, new and second-hand household goods are sold and auctioned there.
Images received from the scene show two Taliban vehicles transporting a number of detained women away from the area. The Taliban have not yet commented on the arrests or the fate of those detained.
The wave of women’s arrests in Herat began in mid-Jawza. The crackdown sparked reactions among residents and led to several protest gatherings.
On Tuesday, 19 Jawza, residents of Jebrael Township took to the streets in protest against the detention of women. Demonstrators chanted slogans including “Education, Work, Freedom” and “Woman, Life, Freedom,” calling for an end to the arrests and the removal of restrictions imposed on women.
Taliban forces dispersed the demonstration. According to local sources, at least two teenage boys were killed during the incident, more than 20 people were injured, and a number of protesters were detained.
Three days later, on Friday, 22 Jawza, another group of Herat residents gathered outside the Taliban governor’s office. Participants in the protest also demanded an end to the detention of women and called for women’s right to education and employment to be ensured.
Sources say that before the protest began, the Taliban had deployed hundreds of armed personnel and a number of military vehicles across different parts of the city. According to these sources, Taliban forces dispersed the gathering by opening fire and detained several protesters.
The arrests of women and the crackdown on protests in Herat have also drawn international reactions. Following these events, demonstrations were held in nearly 30 cities around the world, where Afghan citizens and women’s rights advocates in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, and several other countries called for an end to the detention of women, a halt to the suppression of protesters, and urged governments not to normalize relations with the Taliban.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
