New Wave of Arbitrary Arrests of Women in Kabul and Herat Raises Alarms

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Reports from the capital and the western region of Afghanistan indicate a new wave of arbitrary arrests of women and girls by security forces and Taliban morality enforcers in the cities of Kabul and Herat.

Details of the Arrests

According to local sources, on Tuesday (September 21), Taliban forces stopped over 20 women on the streets of Shah Do Shamsira in central Kabul, accusing them of violating Islamic dress codes and other regulations. Eyewitnesses assert that the arrested women were fully covered in Islamic attire. Further reports reveal that the Taliban, after searching the individuals’ mobile phones, released some of them with guarantees from their families due to a lack of evidence of anti-government content. However, around 16 others remain imprisoned and have been threatened with having their cases sent to the ‘Forty Directorate’ (the Taliban’s intelligence agency), a situation met with protests from some women during their arrests.

Similar Incidents in Herat

Simultaneously, female morality enforcers and masked individuals associated with the Taliban’s Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have also initiated arrests of women and girls in Herat city on Thursday. Sources report that these forces patrolled various neighborhoods in Herat, stopping women in the streets and transporting them to unknown locations in official vehicles, raising widespread concerns about the fate of those detained.