A crackdown by Afghan authorities on a protest against the arrest and detention of more than a dozen women over dress code violations reportedly left at least three people injured on Tuesday.Eyewitnesses said armed police opened fire during the protest by more than 100 people in the city of Herat.Protests are rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. It has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Sharia, law. The regulations include draconian restrictions on women and girls, including bans on education beyond primary school and regulations on what they can wear outside the home. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.Government regulations stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab — which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body — as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. The rules are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
Kakar, who witnessed the crackdown, said he was driving by the site of the protest when he saw police cars arriving and the police firing shots in the air.
