Several girls and women have been recently detained in Kabul for not adhering to the required dress code, according to a Taliban official. In a video posted on social media, security official Ehsanullah Saqib informed religious scholars in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood that they had detained women and girls without proper hijab in the past week. The Taliban has enforced a strict interpretation of Islam since regaining power in August 2021, particularly affecting women with rules categorized by the UN as “gender apartheid.” The recent detentions involved women who were “totally without hijab,” wearing trousers or leggings and dresses instead of a garment covering the entire body, said Ehsanullah.
According to Abdul Ghafar Sabawoon, spokesman for the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, female police advised the women to have “greater respect and dignity” in observing hijab. He stated that no woman had been disrespected or humiliated, and no one was in custody in connection with this matter. However, a human rights activist in Afghanistan suggested that the detentions aimed to pressure families into enforcing hijab on women and girls. This marks the first time the Taliban has openly arrested women and girls on the streets for hijab-related issues, reflecting their broader efforts to suppress women through fear and terror, according to the activist. UN special rapporteur Richard Bennett expressed concern over the arrests, stating they further restrict women’s freedom of expression and undermine their rights.
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