Women and girls in Kabul say the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has intensified its inquiries and interrogations, creating significant challenges for them.
Many report that they can no longer move freely in public spaces, such as markets or streets, without facing harassment from the Taliban’s so-called moral police.
Several women told Amu that the heightened surveillance is making daily activities, like shopping, increasingly difficult. “We can’t even walk in our own neighborhoods. They’ve turned Afghanistan into hell for us,” said one Kabul resident. “Since the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry deployed these moral police, we can’t move around the city or the market,” she added.
A video obtained by Amu shows Taliban moral police arresting several women and taking them away in a pick-up truck. According to the women, the Taliban have intensified their surveillance in public places, questioning women for not wearing masks or allowing strands of hair to show, even while wearing hijab.
“Yesterday, I went to the supermarket, and they were walking inside. If you’re not wearing a mask or if even a bit of hair shows, they start questioning you,” said another Kabul resident. “We are all wearing hijab out of fear, and they even tell shopkeepers, ‘Why are you allowing this?’”
The crackdown follows the Taliban’s enactment of a new Vice and Virtue law a month ago, which has imposed heavy restrictions on citizens, especially women and girls. Despite this, the Taliban themselves have repeatedly violated many of its provisions.
Women’s rights activist Maryam Maroof Arwin condemned the Taliban’s actions. “This is a continuation of gross and widespread human rights violations, specifically against women and girls in Afghanistan,” she said. “This clearly shows that no matter how much opportunity is given to the Taliban, they are incapable of change.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban have ramped up efforts to detain political activists and religious scholars. Political analyst Javid Kohistani has been held in custody for nearly two weeks, with no information about his whereabouts. Human rights activists have called for his immediate release. “Release Javid Kohistani from the Taliban’s prison. He is behind bars without committing any crime, and there is no information about his physical and mental well-being,” one activist said.
Last month, Germany, along with Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands, launched an initiative to hold the Taliban accountable at the International Court of Justice for their violations of human rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The initiative has been supported by 22 countries.
