The Taliban’s so-called morality police have arrested at least 30 women, including one who is pregnant, for allegedly violating the dress code imposed by Afghanistan’s hardline Islamist rulers, officials said.
Sources aware of the arrests in the western province of Herat said the pregnant woman has been shifted to a provincial prison but more information about her condition is not immediately available.
The Independent has reached out to officials in the Interior Affairs Ministry for comment.
Georgette Gagnon, acting head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, told the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Monday during a wide-ranging briefing on the country that about 30 women had been detained by Taliban police for allegedly failing to comply with their dress code.
“The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), is concerned over multiple arrests and detentions of women in Herat, Afghanistan, for alleged non-compliance with dress requirements, which raises serious human rights concerns,” the mission said.
It added: “We remind the de facto authorities that all people have the right to freedom of movement and that all persons, both women and men, are entitled to equality before the law.”
In addition to the arrests, several Afghan women in the province have been given a verbal warning, sources aware of the matter said.
Just in: A recent video shared by a woman from herat province shows Taliban morality enforcement forces detaining a young woman being detained for not wearing a hijab and taken to an unknown location. Reports also mention four other young girls were previously detained.
— Jahanzib Wesa (@jahanzibwesa) June 7, 2026
This… pic.twitter.com/caJHn9f6Gs
The Herat provincial governor has asked local representatives to convey the latest message to women “to not show skin” or wear make-up. The message was also disseminated through the mosques across Herat during Friday prayers.
In a new diktat issued last week, the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, prohibited women from appearing in public without what they called a “proper hijab”.
Several Taliban’s officials were seen patrolling the streets to enforce the directive issued by the Taliban’s ministry for the propagation of virtue and prevention of vice in Herat on Friday.
The directive from the hardline Islamist regime warned that women who will not follow the dress code, show their faces or wear make-up, will face punitive measures.
Local Afghans who witnessed the raids-like situation in the Afghan province said the Taliban officers were seen carrying sticks to haul women as they accused them of not complying with the hijab edict.
Some women were seen shouting and resisting the searches and arrests from male and female Taliban officials, reported news outlet Afghanistan International. A video shared on social media showed Afghan women in hijabs being detained and forced inside a vehicle in a busy market while dozens of men witnessed the incident. The Independent has not verified the authenticity of the video.
“There are currently no women visible on this road. The Taliban detained some women, while others fled the area shouting,” a shopkeeper in the area said.
Many of the women in custody of the Taliban were already observing the enforced dress code at the time of their arrest, he told the Afghan news channel.
Despite promises of implementing a more moderate rule, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls in the war-shattered country, including limits on access to education, employment and sport, drawing widespread international criticism.
Ms Gagnon also told the UNSC that 3.8 million Afghan girls between the ages of seven and 18 are out of school, including 2.6 million adolescent girls. She warned that about 250,000 more girls are excluded from secondary education each year, creating a "lost generation" and harming Afghanistan's long-term economic development.
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