Sources in Herat say that following the order to detain women and girls under the pretext of not wearing the chadari, widely known as the burqa, pressure on men has also intensified sharply. According to the sources, the Taliban Morality Police, by imposing strict restrictions in markets and barbershops, detain and insult people on charges of shaving their beards or having short beards. The sources confirm that over the past week, at least 18 employees of United Nations agencies in the province have been detained on charges of shaving their beards or having short beards. Meanwhile, women and girls also confirm that after the group imposed severe restrictions, they have been barred from going outside. When necessary, they leave their homes to obtain their daily necessities, fearing detention and imprisonment.
Sources in Herat say that after the order to detain women for not wearing the burqa, the situation in the city remains tense and securitized, with families living in constant worry and fear. According to them, in addition to the detention of women, men too are being detained and humiliated by the Taliban Morality Police for trimming their hair or shortening their beards.
Sources in Herat confirm that the Taliban Morality Police, by imposing strict restrictions in markets and barbershops, detain and insult people on charges of shaving their beards and having short beards.
The sources say that over the past week, the group has detained around 18 UN employees for shaving their beards or having short beards, who were then released through the mediation of one of the UN agencies.
These sources say that on June 20, 2026, in Kohsan district, in the border area of Islam Qala, the Taliban detained 17 UN employees at the Islam Qala reception center for having short beards or for shaving them. According to the sources, eight of these individuals were released the same day through the mediation of one of the UN agencies, and the nine others were freed one day after their detention.
In a continuation of the detentions, on June 15, in Guzara district, in the Shahrak-e Andisha area, the group’s intelligence forces detained a Shia imam and transferred him to an unknown location. According to the sources, this detention was likely linked to efforts to organize ceremonies for Eid al-Ghadir.
The sources also confirm that on June 19, two children got into a fight in the city of Herat. According to the sources, one of these children was related to a member of the Taliban intelligence. Following this incident, this Taliban member shot and wounded two members of the other child’s family.
Meanwhile, some residents of Herat confirm that following the detention of women, pressure on the clothing and appearance of men has also increased, with the Taliban Morality Police stopping and punishing men in barbershops and various places on charges of shaving their beards or having short beards, and in some cases detaining them.
Sarina (pseudonym), a resident of Herat, says that in recent days a great deal of news has been heard among the people about the pressure being placed on men by the Taliban, and that since the detention of women, the city has taken on a militarized and frightening atmosphere. According to her, women are present outside far less often, and when they do go out, they are forced to wear the chadari and a face veil.
Ghazal (pseudonym), another woman from Herat, says: “Conditions these days have become so hard and heavy that sometimes I wish I could go back to the time before these protests and arrests; to the days when my greatest wish was to return to university, to continue the path of my life, and to have a good job. But now, sometimes I myself cannot believe that I have reached a point where I am left longing for the simplest things; longing to be able to leave the house, to see the city, to see people… in the clothing that is consistent with my culture and society, not in a veil that makes breathing difficult for me, deprives my eyes of the beauty around me, and, in the unbearable heat, deepens the feeling of suffocation and suffering.”
This woman adds: “It has been about a month since I last went to the course, and I now study only online. Now, with the staggering rise in the price of the internet, I even have to worry about whether I can continue along this path. Sometimes I ask myself: how long do you want to imprison yourself within the walls of this house? But when I think about going outside, I again conclude that if I go out without that chadari and face veil, I might enter an even harsher imprisonment… the imprisonment of a terrorist and murderous group. I do not know where I began my words and where I ended them; I only know that these days are truly difficult, very much so. Days in which I am trapped between depression, hopelessness, and a sense of helplessness. Even so, I still do not know with what strength and what hope I carry on… perhaps only in the hope that this nightmare will finally pass..!”
The Taliban had earlier violently suppressed the public protests in Jibrael of Herat, which were held in reaction to the detention of women; in that incident, several protesters were detained, and several others were wounded, and among them, a child also lost their life.
Sources say that after the demonstrations ended, Taliban forces were extensively engaged in efforts to identify and detain the wounded; for this reason, many of the injured, despite severe wounds, refrained from going to health centers, fearing that they would be identified and detained there.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
سیاست چادری و ریش طالبان؛ ۱۸ کارمند سازمان ملل در هرات بازداشت شدند
