The Taliban’s Information and Culture Department in Herat has denied the arrest of women and girls for not wearing the chadari/burqa, saying that all such claims are “rumors and not true.”
Sources confirmed to Hasht-e Subh Daily on Monday, June 8, that in the past two days, between 40 and 50 women in Herat city were arrested by Taliban morality police.
According to the sources, the detained women and their families were forced to sign commitments pledging to follow Taliban rules on dress code.
Videos circulating on social media show that some of the women had been wearing a full hijab at the time of their arrest, raising questions about claims that they were detained solely for not wearing the chadari.
Some eyewitnesses also confirmed to Hasht-e Subh Daily that Taliban forces beat some women during the arrests.
This comes after the Taliban in Herat reportedly issued an order last Thursday stating that women who do not wear the chadari would be imprisoned. However, later, following widespread public protests, they described the arrests as rumors.
The Taliban had posted the statement on their official X page yesterday, later deleted it, and then reposted it again today.
The arrests of women in Herat by the Taliban have sparked widespread domestic and international reactions, with human rights organizations expressing concern over increasing restrictions on women in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that the arrests of women in Herat over alleged non-compliance with Taliban dress code standards have raised serious human rights concerns.
