Following increased pressure from the Taliban on women and girls in Afghanistan, numerous cases of detention and torture have been reported in Kabul, particularly on charges related to “improper veiling.” Reliable sources in Kabul have confirmed that armed Taliban fighters, including women, forcibly apprehended and relocated many girls from areas like Pul-e Surkh to the Qala-e-Naw area in Dasht-e Barchi and several northern districts of Kabul over the past two days. Women and girls in Kabul emphasize that these detentions go beyond non-compliance with the Taliban-prescribed hijab; rather, women are being arrested for protesting and challenging the group’s authorities.
In contrast, insider information indicates the initiation of a settlement program against women not conforming to the “Taliban-style hijab” across Kabul.
Over the past two years, despite widespread domestic and international pressure, the Taliban have persisted in suppressing, imposing restrictions, and entirely excluding women from society. Some women claim that the Taliban are targeting women and girls, including YouTubers, on charges of collusion with the Fatemiyoun.
In the past two days, the Taliban have forcefully detained and subjected dozens of women and girls to torture in Kabul on charges of not wearing hijab. Multiple eyewitnesses confirmed to the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the group, in various parts of Kabul, including the route from Pul-e Surkh to Qala-e-Naw are of the Dasht Barchi region, forcibly detained and subjected many women and girls to beating and torture before transferring them to their security stations.
An anonymous eyewitness, speaking to the Hasht-e Subh Daily, disclosed that these arrests took place in four to five areas, including Dasht-e Barchi, Kota Sangi, and Pul-e Surkh, yesterday. They added that girls and women were pursued, detained, and imprisoned in the alleys and backstreets of the city on various pretexts.
The eyewitness stated, “I was in Kota Sangi, and there was a large gathering of people. I saw that they [the Taliban militants] were gathering girls under various pretexts and forcibly taking them away. A Taliban woman accompanied them, and there were several male guards with her. They were forcibly dragging women, even running behind the girls in the alleys.”
This woman, who has endured oppression and persecution by the Taliban, reveals that the Taliban detain women in the Dasht-e Barchi region of Kabul, even on the pretext of having connections with the Fatemiyoun, and have repeatedly inspected people’s homes to identify protesting women and their alignment with the Fatemiyoun.
Several women, in conversations with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, have spoken about the difficult situation of women in Afghanistan. These women state, “Unfortunately, there is no one to hear the voices of women who bear such suffering and oppression. Everyone is silent. Women are forced to throw themselves into a dead-end to preserve their lives, and currently, no woman is in a good condition in the country.”
However, another woman, who also prefers to remain anonymous in the report, narrates her perspective, saying, “I had the Islamic hijab; I only didn’t have a mask. As I passed through an alley, a lady stopped me and asked why I didn’t have a mask. I replied, ‘Why should I have a mask?’ Several armed individuals behind her stated that the Islamic hijab is a mask. They were armed and fearful of their guns, I said, ‘Alright, I’ll have a mask from now on.'”
Another eyewitness states that yesterday, the Taliban would stop women and girls in various parts of the seventh district of the capital, issuing warnings. He added, “A girl had come from the Dasht-e Barchi, they [the Taliban] took her in their custody, even though she was accompanied by her brother, and unfortunately, her poor brother couldn’t do anything.”
Another woman shares her experience of encountering the Taliban and being detained by their fighters, narrating, “Today, we were going to buy a mattress. A woman, from the Moral Police of the Taliban, grabbed my hand and accused me of shamelessness for not wearing the prescribed clothing of the Taliban. They wanted to forcefully take me into their ranger, but I resisted and managed to free myself from their grasp and declared that I wouldn’t wear tight clothes anymore.”
Meanwhile, a Taliban member informed educational centers that, based on the Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’s directive, all women are instructed to adhere to the Taliban’s prescribed Islamic hijab.
This Taliban member has added that if a woman is detained due to non-compliance with this directive, she will spend several days in the detention center of their security sector. He has also urged the families of detained women to go to the security sectors and provide assurances that these women will comply with the Taliban’s directives after release.
The findings of the Hasht-e Subh Daily also indicate that the Taliban Moral Police severely beat and tortured two women in Takhar province for not wearing a veil. These women have shared images of parts of their bodies affected by Taliban torture with the Hasht-e Subh Daily, revealing that most parts of their bodies are bruised, wounded, and bloodied.
With the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan, they have consistently continued to impose restrictions on women. Women are currently deprived of going to parks, public baths, traveling without a male guardian, education, and employment.
Previously, senior human rights experts have stated, through the publication of a report, that the Taliban’s treatment and behavior towards women could exacerbate “gender apartheid.” According to them, the Taliban in Afghanistan systematically restricts the human rights of women and girls, narrowing the space for women in all aspects of life.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan, has said, “Women and girls in Afghanistan experience severe discrimination that may lead to sexual violence – a crime against humanity – and be recognized as gender apartheid.”
During this period, the Taliban have not positively responded to any of the demands of women and the global community regarding the observance of their human rights and acceptance of the diverse realities of Afghan society. The leaders of this group have stated that they adhere to women’s rights within the framework of Islamic principles.
