At least two people, including a woman and a child, were killed and dozens more wounded after Taliban opened fire on protesters in the western city of Herat, according to local sources.
Sources told Amu TV that the bodies of the two victims had been transferred to Herat Regional Hospital. They said many other wounded protesters had not been taken to government hospitals because families feared possible reprisals or arrests.
The violence erupted Tuesday after dozens of residents took to the streets to protest the detention of women and girls accused of violating the Taliban’s dress code.
The demonstration began in Jebrail township, a predominantly Hazara area northwest of Herat city, where men and women gathered in support of women who had been detained in recent days by members of the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
Witnesses said Taliban opened fire near an intersection known as Bahar-e Zendagi as protesters marched through the area. Several demonstrators were wounded, and Taliban forces continued firing in an effort to disperse the crowd, according to local residents.
Taliban have not publicly commented on the shootings but have claimed no arrests has been done.
The protest followed days of growing anger over the reported detention of women and girls in Herat for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.
Residents and local sources said the crackdown followed a decision reportedly made during a provincial meeting led by Herat’s Taliban governor, who allegedly ordered stricter enforcement of dress requirements, including action against women whose faces were not fully covered in public.
Sources said Taliban morality police detained as many as 35 women on Saturday at three locations across the city. The women were later released after male family members were summoned and warned, according to local residents.
Flyers circulated across Herat on Monday calling on residents to gather Tuesday morning in Jebrail’s District 13 to protest the arrests. The demonstration appeared to be one of the largest public protests in recent months against the Taliban’s restrictions on women.
One Herat resident said Taliban also detained 17 women following Tuesday’s protest.
The events in Herat have drawn growing international concern.
Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports that scores of women had been detained in Herat for a third consecutive day over alleged dress-code violations and called for their immediate release.
The issue was also raised before the UN Security Council, where Georgette Gagnon, the acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), cited reports that about 30 women had been detained in Herat by Taliban morality police for allegedly failing to comply with Taliban dress requirements.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and university education, limitations on employment and increasingly strict rules governing women’s appearance and movement in public.
Residents in Herat said there were growing calls for additional demonstrations in the coming days, including after Friday prayers, as anger over the arrests and the use of force against protesters continued to spread.
