Sources also told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has detained a number of protesters and has begun visiting hospitals in search of injured demonstrators.Follow us on Google Afghan burqa-clad women queue to receive food aid from a local charity during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Ghazni on February 24, 2026.(photo credit: Mohammad Faisal NAWEED/AFP via Getty Images)ByDANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARDJUNE 9, 2026 18:06The Taliban opened fire on a group of protesters demonstrating against the arrest of women who were accused of violating Afghanistan’s Taliban-imposed dress code, according to local media reports and statements published by human rights organizations and UN officials on Tuesday.Georgette Gagnon, acting head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, told the UN Security Council on Monday that approximately 30 women had been detained by Taliban police for allegedly failing to comply with their dress code.A pregnant woman is understood to be among those detained in Herat.Under the Taliban’s morality law, a woman’s face is considered awrah (intimate parts of the human body), so women are forced to wear clothing that fully covers their faces.Afghanistan's vice and virtue ministry dismissed reports of arrests in a statement, claiming it was “all rumors” and asserting that the “hijab is a divine command, a law that we are obliged to implement.”Over 100 protestors fired onEyewitnesses told the Associated Press that armed police opened fire on more than 100 protesters in the city of Herat. At least three people were wounded, according to the report.Afghanistan International reported that at least one person was killed, though it added the information could not be independently verified. Amu TV also reported that the attack on protesters resulted in a child being killed.Sources also told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has detained a number of protesters and has begun visiting hospitals in search of injured demonstrators.Richard Bennett, the United Nations’ investigator on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was “alarmed by excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”In a post on X/Twitter, he said, “It’s time to defuse the tension, respect citizens’ freedom of expression, especially women and girls, and avoid further harm.”Amnesty International, urging the Taliban “end the use of unlawful force against peaceful protesters, release those arbitrarily detained, and respect the rights of women and girls,” published, “The Taliban’s reported use of live fire against protesters is shocking escalation of their ongoing assault on the rights to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and women’s rights in Afghanistan. Those protesting peacefully should never be met with bullets and violence.”Follow us on Google