Violence broke out in Afghanistan on Tuesday when authorities used force to disperse demonstrators protesting the detention of more than a dozen women accused of violating dress code requirements, leaving at least three people wounded according to reports.
Witnesses reported that armed officers fired weapons during the demonstration involving more than 100 participants in Herat.
Such public demonstrations are uncommon in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has maintained control since 2021 following the turbulent departure of U.S.-led military forces. The current government has established regulations based on their rigid understanding of Islamic law, including severe limitations on women and girls such as prohibiting education past elementary levels and dictating acceptable public attire. Opposition is forbidden, and demonstrations challenging official policies are banned.
Current official requirements mandate that women may appear publicly only while wearing complete hijab — including head covering and full-length garments — plus facial covering that exposes only the eyes. These standards are enforced by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Kakar, who observed the confrontation, described driving past the demonstration site when he noticed police vehicles arriving and officers discharging weapons into the air.
“After several shots, we got scared and got out of the car, to not be injured,” said Kakar, who requested only his single name be published due to concerns about retaliation for media contact. He continued that police subsequently confronted the demonstrators “and the police opened fire again, and some people were injured. I saw blood on the road.” Kakar indicated he could not determine the precise number of casualties.
A second witness, who requested anonymity for safety concerns, reported observing three wounded individuals.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ investigator on human rights in Afghanistan, expressed being “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”
Writing on X, he stated that individuals responsible for the violence should face consequences. “It’s time to defuse the tension, respect citizens’ freedom of expression, especially women and girls, and avoid further harm,” Bennett said.
This past Sunday, the U.N.’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan posted on X that detaining women in Herat for alleged dress code infractions created “serious human rights concerns.” The organization had voiced similar worries regarding comparable arrests in the Afghan capital, Kabul, during the previous year.
A human rights observer, speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization to share information with media, confirmed Monday that monitors had documented no fewer than 16 arrests and detentions in Herat since Friday for suspected dress code non-compliance, including one expectant mother.
Afghanistan’s vice and virtue ministry rejected claims regarding women’s arrests and detentions.
“The issues being spread about women being arrested in Herat are all rumors,” the ministry declared, stating that wearing “hijab is a divine command, a law that we are obliged to implement.”
During the previous week’s Friday prayers, religious leaders at Herat mosques made proclamations for the vice and virtue ministry declaring women could not leave their residences without proper hijab. The human rights observer noted that arrests and detentions commenced soon thereafter.
