Fear has gripped Afghanistan's third city as the Taliban government violently enforces a stricter dress code for women.Members of the Taliban's notorious morality police have arrested and even publicly beaten women in the western city of Herat accused of violating a new directive issued in early June.The order prohibits women from appearing in public without what the hard-line Islamist group describes as a "proper hijab." Women who fail to comply, including those showing their faces or wearing makeup -- will face punitive measures, the directive said."Women in Herat were already wearing the hijab," a woman in the city told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, referring to the Islamic head scarf which covers the neck and head. "But now the Taliban demands that women wear a facemask, too, and cover their faces."The Taliban's security forces arrested at least 30 women in the first week after the directive was issued, according to the United Nations.The restrictions led to rare public protests in Herat on June 9 that were violently dispersed by Taliban forces. At least two people were killed and more than 20 wounded in the demonstration, the UN said.
Afghan burqa-clad women sit along a pavement in the Gazargah area of Herat on January 7.
