In the ongoing wave of Taliban arrests based on “improper veiling,” as instructed by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in various regions, including Dasht-e Barchi and Pul-e Surkh in Kabul, and most recently in Jaghori district of Ghazni province, families in these areas express deep concern about the persisting arrests by the Taliban. Some female students, enrolled in English language and religious sciences courses at educational centers and religious schools, reveal that, following the Taliban’s detention of girls, their families prohibited them from leaving their homes and attending educational classes. Under the pretext of veiling, the Taliban has deprived them of their last hope for studying.
Following the detention of some women protesters and civil activists, subjected to physical and psychological torture and sexual assault by the Taliban, families are more worried about the arrest of their daughters by this group, instilling fear in them about the Taliban’s prisons. They mention that male members of their families have warned them that if their young daughters end up in Taliban prisons without having committed any crime, it would disgrace them. They have been cautioned that if this group arrests and imprisons them, they will not take any action for their release from the Taliban’s prison, as it would damage their reputation and dignity, and there would be no effort made to secure their freedom.
Some of the teachers from educational centers also mention that after the Taliban arrested girls, their participation in educational centers has declined. According to them, families do not allow their daughters to attend educational classes. Witnesses also say that some of the detained girls were students who were either on their way to educational centers or returning home.
Hamida is one of the students who, along with her sisters, is engaged in learning the English language and religious sciences at an educational center and a religious school. She says that after the Taliban arrested the girls, her father, brother, and uncles strongly opposed their leaving the house and did not permit them to participate in educational centers or even attend religious school. She states, “My sisters and I are going through tough times. Two of my sisters, unable to go to school because of the Taliban, wanted to continue their studies by attending courses and madrasas, but unfortunately, the situation that has arisen in these three days does not even allow us to step out of the house.”
She mentions that her father and brother have consistently cautioned them against venturing even a few steps outside the house without permission. In the event that their responsibilities require them to leave, they are instructed to don a veil. She remarks, “My brother insists that if your task is indispensable, wrap yourself in a chador and proceed, but do not anticipate our intervention if, God forbid, the Taliban apprehend you. Retrieving a girl who has been arrested and imprisoned by the Taliban serves no purpose. It is disgraceful if people say, ‘The Taliban took that girl.’ Do not diminish our honor to mere dust, and you are well aware of the conditions in the Taliban’s prisons. Consider what the protesting women have endured there before being released.”
Aqila, another of the girls, is now imprisoned in her home and doesn’t even have the right to step outside. She, too, laments the current situation and considers the Taliban the sole reason for the misfortunes of Afghan girls. A student of economics at Kabul University, she turned to tailoring after universities were closed to girls. She mentions that her father used to encourage her and her sisters to study, ensuring they wouldn’t remain illiterate like him. However, the escalating restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls in Afghanistan have left her father disillusioned with their education. Now, especially after the Taliban arrested girls, he doesn’t allow the female members of his family to leave the house. She says, “The day the Taliban started arresting girls, I was at the tailor. My father called in a panic, urging me to come home because the Taliban were rounding up the girls. He said that nothing is worth risking your honor and dignity for. I rushed home. My father was there, saying that none of you should go to courses or tailoring any more. If the Taliban take you once, you’ll have no honor or dignity left.”
She adds that her father, even before the Taliban’s rule, single-handedly bore all the hardships of life so that his daughters could study and become literate. But now, he tells them to refrain from studying and become homebound. She says, “My father always used to say, ‘Study, work hard, and don’t remain blind and illiterate like us. As long as I’m alive, I’ll work for you and find the money for your education.’ But these days, it’s the opposite. He only says, ‘Leave behind studying and working. Stay at home. Don’t even go out to get the materials you need.'”
Some of the teachers from educational centers also mention that after the Taliban arrested girls on the pretext of “improper veiling,” the number of female students in educational classes decreased. Upon contacting the students, they found out that their families do not allow them to leave the house. The families of these students have expressed that their daughters should stay at home and remain illiterate rather than risk the Taliban imprisoning them for any reason.
One of the teachers from an educational center in West Kabul, who preferred to remain anonymous in the report, states that over the past three days, the number of female students in classes has decreased. The few who do attend classes reluctantly come with apologies to their families and are visibly tense, fearing arrest in the classrooms. Instead of focusing more on their studies, they keep an eye on the classroom doors, afraid that the Taliban might storm in and take them to prison. He says, “Although the Taliban’s rule has imposed severe educational restrictions on girls, the resilience and eagerness of girls to continue their education sometimes astound me. Despite each wave of restrictions from this group, the girls would be momentarily disheartened and subdued in the classrooms, but they wouldn’t surrender. However, it seems that the arrest of girls by the Taliban and their imprisonment without any crime has had a more profound impact on them. In these three days, the presence of girls in the classrooms has decreased, and those who manage to get permission from their families seem to be elsewhere, both physically and mentally. They are very anxious, and their eyes are fixed on the door, anticipating when the Taliban might come to take them away.”
On one hand, the Taliban have been present in educational centers in West Kabul, warning the officials of these institutions not to allow the entry of girls who do not adhere to their prescribed dress code. An audio recording obtained by the Hasht-e Subh Daily indicates that a Taliban member has issued a warning to the officials of educational centers in West Kabul, instructing them to inform girls about the Taliban’s dress code. Otherwise, the Taliban will take serious actions. According to the warning, girls found in violation of the dress code will be detained in classrooms and transferred to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison after two or three days. They will only be released if a family member, such as a father or brother, visits the prison to secure their freedom.
Simultaneously, the Taliban has subjected girls from different areas in Kabul, the capital, and Ghazni province to detention involving torture and beatings, prompting substantial reactions. Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, has condemned the Taliban’s actions. He asserts that the recent arrest of women in Kabul by this group, justified for alleged improper veiling, imposes additional constraints on women’s freedom and undermines their other rights. Bennett has urged the immediate and unconditional release of women from Taliban prisons.
