Afghanistan’s Taliban government used live fire to disperse a protest in the western city of Herat over new restrictions on women, eyewitnesses told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.One eyewitness said that at least one person was killed and several were wounded in the protest led by women’s rights activists. RFE/RL could not independently verify the claim.The militant Islamist group, which seized power in 2021, denied its security forces used gunfire to disperse the demonstrators.
The small protest on June 9 came after members of the Taliban’s notorious morality police reportedly arrested or detained several women for violating new restrictions over women’s public appearances.In a directive issued last week, the Taliban prohibited women from appearing in public without what they described as a “proper hijab,” or Islamic head scarf.Women who failed to comply with the Islamic dress code, including those showing their faces or wearing makeup -- would face punitive measures, according to the directive.The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has expressed concern over the crackdown on women in Herat for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s new directive."UNAMA is concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat...for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements, which raises serious human rights concerns," UNAMA said in a post on X on June 7.Taliban authorities in Herat denied that there have been mass detentions.Crackdown On WomenProtests are rare under the Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist since regaining power. The group has waged a violent crackdown on dissent, arresting, beating, and torturing activists and journalists, according to human rights groups.Women have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s attempts to impose their extreme version of Islam on the war-torn country of some 40 million people.
