UNAMA: Taliban Have Arrested at Least 30 Women and Girls in Herat

Image: © Mashal / Xinhua / MAXPPP

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says in a new report that the Taliban arrested at least 30 women and girls during a campaign to enforce their prescribed hijab in Herat city and transferred them to Herat Provincial Prison.

According to the report, published on Tuesday (28 July), the arrests took place between 6 and 8 June this year. The detained women and girls were released after pledging to comply with the Taliban-imposed dress code.

UNAMA says that two days before the arrests began, the Taliban governor of Herat, together with officials from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, asked community representatives to ensure that women complied with the Taliban’s hijab requirements when leaving their homes. The following day, the message was announced during Friday prayers at mosques across the city.

According to witness accounts provided to UNAMA, in one case, a woman was arrested along with her male relatives. In another, a mother who refused to leave her daughter alone was detained with her.

UNAMA also referred to a protest by residents of Herat’s Jebrael area. The protest was held on 9 June in response to the arrests of women and the enforcement of compulsory hijab.

According to the report, Taliban forces suppressed the protest with beatings and gunfire, killing one boy, injuring at least four people and arresting at least 17 protesters.

UNAMA says that following the protest, Taliban intelligence officers stopped people on the streets and searched their mobile phones for photographs, videos and messages related to the demonstration. Anyone found with protest-related content on their phone was detained and interrogated.

The crackdown significantly reduced the presence of women on the streets and in public places across Herat. UNAMA says many women avoided leaving their homes for fear of arrest.

The dress restrictions have also disrupted women’s access to healthcare. In November 2025, after the Taliban ordered hospitals, shopping centres, shops and government offices to deny entry to women not wearing burqas, Médecins Sans Frontières reported a 28 per cent decline in patient admissions at Herat Provincial Hospital.

UNAMA says women in Herat have faced differing and contradictory Taliban instructions regarding their clothing. Some were told they would not be allowed to enter government offices without a burqa, while others were informed that wearing a chador and face mask would be sufficient.

Forcing women to comply with an imposed dress code and punishing them for their clothing form part of the Taliban’s broader restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, access to services and participation in public life.