Taliban opened fire on protesters in the western city of Herat on Tuesday after dozens of residents took to the streets to denounce the detention of women and girls accused of violating the Taliban’s dress code, according to local sources and footage obtained by Amu TV.
Eyewitnesses said several protesters were wounded when Taliban forces fired on the crowd. At least two of the injured were taken to hospital, sources said.
The protest began in the Jibrail township, northwest of Herat City, where demonstrators gathered in support of women and girls who had been detained in recent days by Taliban morality police in the same area.
According to witnesses, the shooting occurred near an intersection known as “Bahar-e Zendagi” as protesters marched through the area.
Sources said Taliban continued firing in an effort to disperse the crowd and that demonstrations were ongoing in parts of the city.
Taliban have not publicly commented on the incident.
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.
Local sources previously told Amu TV that dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed by sources, had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.
The reported arrests drew international concern. On Monday, 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.
The issue was also raised before the UN Security Council, where Georgette Gagnon, the acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, cited reports that about 30 women had been detained in Herat by Taliban morality police and law enforcement officials for allegedly failing to meet Taliban dress requirements.
Flyers circulated across Herat on Monday calling on residents to gather at 8 a.m. Tuesday in District 13 of Jibrail township to protest the arrests.
Taliban have steadily expanded restrictions on women and girls since returning to power in August 2021, including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment and increasingly strict regulations governing women’s appearance and movement in public.
The Herat protest appeared to be one of the largest public demonstrations in recent months directly challenging the Taliban’s enforcement of those restrictions.
