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Image: AFP The city of Herat, home to more than two million people, has taken on an atmosphere of anxiety, suffocation and despair. Residents say daily life under the relentless decrees of the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice grows narrower and darker by the day. Only 67 employees of this department now effectively control the social life of millions of citizens, imposing bans on music, educational restrictions, enforced dress codes and even “beard measurements”, placing people’s private lives under the heavy pressure of their directives. Residents of Herat say the historic city, once a centre of culture, art and commerce, has now turned into a “prison” whose bars grow thicker by the day. “These people know neither religion nor human; they only issue orders.” Shahla and Morsal, two young women from Herat, told Zan News that the social atmosphere has become extremely harsh and unpredictable. Morsal said: “It is not only we, the girls; all people are trapped in the dehumanising decrees of this group.” With a trembling voice, Shahla added: “The Taliban have turned life into a cage for the people. Even breathing has become difficult.” The women say the officers of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice “have neither Islamic knowledge nor administrative experience”, yet they are effectively ruling over the lives of millions of citizens. Religious scholars: “These decrees have no Islamic basis” Meanwhile, Bilal Faizi, a religious scholar, reacting to these decisions, said: “There is no such instruction anywhere in Islam. What is being implemented in Herat today is arbitrary and baseless interpretation. Religion came for justice, not to play with the fate of the people.” According to him, many of the decrees issued have no connection to recognised Islamic principles or sources, and have caused religion to be viewed negatively by the public. Citizens: “From our beards to our clothing, everything is under control” Farid Ahmad Jamal, a resident of Herat, spoke of the extreme and unusual monitoring by the Vice and Virtue officers: “Previously they only told us to grow a beard; now they measure our beards. They even draw up plans for how we should dress.” He said the people of Herat face a new list of bans and obligations every day, with no room left for protest or even questioning.

Image: Reuters/BBC Ahead of International Students’ Day on 17 November, the Human Rights Activists’ Union said in a statement that the Taliban, by depriving girls of education and closing university doors, have committed “cultural genocide” and “gender apartheid”. The statement said the Taliban, by banning girls from schools and universities, eliminating scientific disciplines, dismissing lecturers and turning educational institutions into ideological structures, are seeking to “destroy the intellectual capacity and the future of an entire generation”. The Union said these policies, based on international standards, amount to “cultural genocide” and “intellectual cleansing”; measures aimed at eliminating women’s awareness, identity and independence. The organisation added that depriving women of education constitutes “gender apartheid” and a “crime against humanity” under global conventions, as the Taliban have systematically denied half of society the right to education and public participation solely because they are women. The Human Rights Activists’ Union called on the international community, universities and human rights institutions to recognise the Taliban’s conduct as a “crime” and to take practical steps to hold the group’s leaders accountable. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have banned girls from attending schools above grade six and from entering universities, and have issued more than one hundred restrictive decrees against women. United Nations experts describe these policies as “gender apartheid” and a “systematic attack on women”.

Photo by: Abdul Karim Azim/alive-in In an unprecedented and contentious move, officers from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice detained dozens of women and girls on Saturday evening (November 15) after they had gone with their families to the restaurants in Herat’s Taraqi Park to have a meal. Witnesses say that even women who were observing the Taliban’s mandatory dress requirements were not allowed to sit and eat, and officers detained them on the grounds of “the presence of women in a restaurant”. The incident has sparked a wave of anger, fear and confusion among families. Families present at the scene say the incident was so sudden and humiliating that children began crying out of fear, and no one understood what “crime” the women were supposed to have committed. Some women’s rights activists describe the Taliban’s behaviour as a new form of restriction and control over women, calling it “insulting” and “a violation of human rights”. According to them, the Taliban cannot exercise control over the women in their own households, yet they imprison other women in a cage of restrictions. Mahsa Muradi, a women’s rights activist, told Zan News that the Taliban treat the women of society as if they were the ignored women and girls of their own families, while the people of Herat are educated, aware and urban, and will not accept being treated in the same way. She described this action as a new attempt to silence urban women and impose fear on society. Wajiha, another women’s rights activist, said the Taliban invent a new form of control over women’s lives every day and violate their most basic rights. She stressed that women have the right to go out with their families or even alone to eat, and that depriving women of leaving their homes and eating in public is an obvious attempt to destroy their individual freedoms. According to residents, Herat, once one of the most vibrant and family-oriented cities in the country, has now become a place where women are afraid even to sit in a restaurant. The mass arrests on Saturday evening have raised new questions among the public: if women eating food is considered a crime today, what will be forbidden tomorrow? Walking? Speaking? Or breathing?

image: @MSF_Afghanistan/X Amnesty International Italy has warned that the Taliban’s new restriction in Herat, which bans women without a burqa from entering hospitals, has put the lives of thousands of women and girls at risk. The organisation wrote on its X page on Thursday, 13 November: “The Taliban’s war on women and girls continues. Women have been removed from all areas of public life and deprived of their rights and human dignity.” Amnesty International stressed that the new ban further restricts women’s and girls’ access to medical services, including essential healthcare, and stated that the international community must not remain silent in the face of such conditions. The organisation added: “We always stand with the women of Afghanistan.” This reaction comes after the Taliban in recent days ordered that women in Herat may only enter government offices, schools and hospitals if they are wearing a burqa. Reports indicate that female doctors, nurses and patients without a burqa have been prevented from entering the Herat regional hospital. Several human rights and humanitarian organisations had previously warned that this Taliban decision disrupts women’s access to healthcare and will worsen the country’s health crisis. In early November, the Taliban made the burqa mandatory in Herat. Women without a burqa are neither allowed to use taxis nor to enter schools and hospitals. The decision has prompted widespread criticism from women’s rights activists, and in Kabul and Herat women burned the burqa in symbolic protest.

Local sources in Panjshir say the Taliban have shut down more than five women’s literacy centres in the province and dismissed their instructors. According to the sources, these centres were operating in the provincial capital and several districts, providing education for women who had been unable to attend school. These classes had been active since the previous government and hosted large numbers of female learners. The sources added that the Taliban have also closed a vocational high school that taught boys and girls in separate shifts. Taliban local officials have not commented on the matter. This move comes as the Taliban have carried out similar actions in recent months in Bamyan and Nangarhar, where dozens of women’s literacy centres have been closed and many female teachers dismissed. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, girls above grade six have been banned from attending school, and universities, medical institutes and vocational training courses have also been closed to women. Women’s rights activists describe these Taliban policies as “gender apartheid”, a systematic effort, they say, aimed at the complete removal of women from education and public life.

image: ACNUR Portraying the suffering and resistance of Khadija Amin, screened at the European Film Festival in Spain The documentary “Where Are My Children?”, which tells the story of the life of Khadija Amin, an Afghan journalist residing in Spain, was screened at the twenty-second edition of the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. This two-part documentary, directed by Vanessa Hernández Bourke and Pablo Deus Bouzón, depicts one of the most painful narratives of a mother separated from her children following the fall of Afghanistan. Khadija Amin, a member of the board of Reporters Without Borders in Spain, is the central figure and narrator of the film. Source: Festival de Sevilla According to the production team, the documentary is the result of three years of research and filming, following Khadija’s difficult journey of struggle. After the fall of Kabul in 2021, she sought asylum in Spain, yet in Afghanistan’s official records she is registered as “deceased”. During this period, her husband took their three children back to Afghanistan and prevented any contact between them for months. The documentary recounts that the absence of official documents and complex legal procedures have prevented Khadija from proving that she is the children’s legal mother, a situation she describes as “the most painful experience of her life”. Festival organisers described the screening of the documentary in Seville as “an important step in amplifying the voices of Afghan women”. Beyond the personal account of an Afghan mother, the documentary also provides international audiences with a clear depiction of the suffering, resilience and insecurity faced by women in Afghanistan.

Image: unicef The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Afghanistan, despite contributing very little to global climate change, is now facing one of the world’s worst water and climate crises; a disaster threatening the lives of millions of children. Tajuddin Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, said on the occasion of the opening of the global climate summit (COP30): “There is no representative from Afghanistan at this summit, even though the country’s children are among those most affected by the impacts of climate change.” He added that drought, earthquakes, and recurrent floods are devastating the health, nutrition, and future of Afghan children, while the country faces a severe drinking water crisis. According to him, more than half of Afghanistan’s water sources have dried up, and eight out of ten people are drinking contaminated water. Oyewale said that urban water supply and sanitation systems are collapsing under the pressure of natural disasters and environmental degradation, while waterborne diseases are on the rise. UNICEF’s report stressed that Afghanistan remains one of the world’s most underfunded humanitarian crises, with only 5 percent of the required funding secured to provide access to safe water and climate-resilient services. The organisation stated that UNICEF and its partners continue to assist affected families and children by installing solar-powered pumps, creating rainwater storage networks, and providing emergency health services to maintain access to clean water and essential support. Oyewale emphasised: “The children of Afghanistan did not create the climate crisis, but they are paying the highest price for it.” This warning comes after several international organisations, including the World Food Programme (WFP), reported a sharp rise in poverty, malnutrition, and humanitarian suffering in Afghanistan, particularly among women and children. Experts warn that with ongoing drought, forced repatriations, and dwindling global aid, the country is on the brink of another humanitarian catastrophe.

social media The Taliban have publicly flogged 15 people, including a woman, in the provinces of Nangarhar and Ghor. According to a statement released on Wednesday (November 11) by the Taliban’s Supreme Court, 14 individuals, including one woman, were punished yesterday and today in Lalpur district of Nangarhar province following rulings by the group’s city and primary courts. The court stated that these individuals were accused of “running away from home, buying and selling alcohol, sodomy, and theft” and each received between 30 and 39 lashes. In a separate statement, the Taliban court said that a man in Saghar district of Ghor province was also publicly flogged 39 times on charges of “moral corruption.” These punishments come as the Taliban have repeatedly carried out public floggings since their return to power, and to date have executed at least 11 people in front of hundreds of spectators. International human rights organisations have repeatedly condemned these acts as a “clear violation of human rights,” stating that public executions and corporal punishment are contrary to international law and human dignity.

Image credit: The Afghan Times “The Taliban have divided the aid among their own people; nothing is left for us.” Despite the Taliban’s repeated claims of supporting Afghan returnees, harrowing scenes on the streets of Afghanistan tell a different story. Women, children, and even men expelled from Iran and Pakistan can be seen in cities across the country, extending their hands in despair to passersby; a painful reflection of poverty, abandonment, and unfulfilled promises. The Taliban claim to have provided humanitarian aid for returnees across various sectors, but Zan News field reports indicate that much of this assistance has never reached those in real need. Several returnees told Zan News that the Taliban have distributed international aid among their own affiliates, leaving nothing for the poor. Khojasta, a mother of two young children in Farah, now sits by the roadside and begs for help from passersby. She told Zan News: “May God not bless those who ruined our lives. Look, it’s midnight, the air is cold and dusty, and I’m wandering with my sick children. We were deported from Tehran. Apart from the 5,000 Afghanis they gave us at the Nimroz border, we received no help. I am homeless and beg because of poverty.” In Nimroz province, Khaleda, another returnee woman, begs on the streets with her family. “This man is my husband, there is no work for him,” she said. “Now we beg together. Many nights we have no bread and return empty-handed to our empty tent.” In Herat, Nazanin, a woman with two daughters and a young son, has been living in Taraqqi Park for four months, stretching out her hand to passersby in search of help. She is originally from Khost province but says she cannot afford the fare to return home. “I am from Khost, but I don’t have money to go back,” she told Zan News. “I’ve been here for four months. During the day, I beg so my children won’t go hungry; at night, we sleep in corners of parks and on the streets. No one comes to us.” The sharp rise in begging across Afghan cities, particularly after the forced deportation of migrants from Iran and Pakistan, has become one of the country’s gravest humanitarian crises. While millions of dollars in international aid are flowing into Afghanistan under the banner of “support for returnees,” homeless women and children still sit on the streets, waiting for a small act of mercy and compassion.

Sent to Zan TV Members of the Lantern of Freedom of Afghanistan Women Movement held a protest on Tuesday (11 November) against the Taliban’s recent order making the wearing of the burqa mandatory for women in Herat province. In a statement issued by the movement, it said: “The imposition of compulsory dress violates women’s human dignity and individual freedom. Islam is a faith of awareness and choice, not coercion and fear. Clothing has value only when it comes from inner faith and conviction, not from orders and threats.” The Lantern of Freedom Movement stressed that no regime has the right to use women’s bodies and clothing as a tool to project political or religious power. The statement added: “Women’s freedom is an inseparable part of a society’s freedom; a society that imprisons its women condemns itself to the darkness of ignorance.” Referring to Afghan women’s resilience, the movement wrote: “Women have kept the light of awareness burning even in the darkest years, and the Taliban, through forced veiling, are trying to extinguish that light.” The protest took place amid the Taliban’s recent enforcement of compulsory burqa use in Herat province. Women without a burqa are reportedly barred from entering hospitals, schools, and public transport; a move women’s rights activists describe as “part of the Taliban’s systematic policy to erase women entirely from public life.”