Afghanistan: Taliban open fire during protest over arrests of women for dress code violation

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Afghan authorities cracked down on a protest in western Afghanistan Tuesday against the arrest and detention of more than a dozen women over dress code violations, with eyewitnesses saying police opened fire, leaving at least three people injured.

About 100-150 people were participating in the protest in the western city of Herat, witnesses said.

Protests are rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The government has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.

The regulations include draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and what women can wear.

The rules stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab — which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body — as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. The regulations are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

One witness said he was driving by the site of the protest when he saw police cars arriving and the police firing shots in the air.

“After several shots, we got scared and got out of the car, so as not to be injured,” said Kakar, who asked that only his one name be used for fear of reprisals for speaking with the media. Shortly afterward, the police clashed with the protesters “and the police opened fire again, and some people were injured. I saw blood on the road.” Kakar said he couldn’t be sure exactly how many people had been injured.

Another eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he saw three people injured.

Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ investigator on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”

In a post on X, he said those responsible for the violence should be held accountable. “It’s time to defuse the tension, respect citizens’ freedom of expression, especially women and girls, and avoid further harm,” Bennett said.

A human rights monitor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details to the media, said Monday that monitors had verified at least 16 arrests and detentions, including of a pregnant woman, in Herat since Friday over alleged non-compliance with dress requirements.

Afghanistan’s vice and virtue ministry dismissed the reports of arrests and detentions of women.

“The issues being spread about women being arrested in Herat are all rumors,” it said in a statement, adding that wearing the “hijab is a divine command, a law that we are obliged to implement.”

Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher for the rights organization Human Rights Watch, said: “The Taliban's apparent use of lethal force ... is very concerning.”

The organization called on authorities ”to immediately release all those detained for peaceful protest and provide health services to the injured ones," Abbasi said, adding that Human Rights Watch was also concerned about the “arbitrary detention of women for so-called inappropriate clothing.”

On Sunday, the U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a post on X that the arrests and detentions of women in Herat over alleged dress code violations raised “serious human rights concerns.” It had expressed concern over similar arrests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, last year.

During last week's Friday prayers, imams in mosques in Herat issued announcements on behalf of the vice and virtue ministry that women were not allowed to leave their homes without wearing the hijab. The human rights monitor said the arrests and detentions began shortly after that.