The United Nations has urged Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to stop arresting women over dress-code rules after reports that several women and girls were detained in western Herat province.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA, said it was concerned by reports of multiple arrests and detentions of women for allegedly failing to comply with dress requirements. The mission said such action raised serious human rights concerns and called on the Taliban authorities to ensure equality before the law.
UNAMA did not give an official number of those detained. However, local media reported that at least 21 women and girls had been arrested in Herat over alleged violations of the Taliban’s dress rules.
The reported arrests followed a Taliban directive warning women against appearing in public without what the authorities describe as a “proper hijab”. Local reports said women had also been warned against showing their faces or wearing makeup in public.
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has denied reports of arrests, calling them rumours. However, the ministry repeated that hijab is a religious requirement.
The UN mission said everyone has the right to freedom of movement and should be treated equally under the law. It urged the Taliban authorities to end detentions linked to dress-code enforcement and to respect Afghanistan’s human rights obligations.
The reports have added to international concern over the condition of women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The Taliban authorities have imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s education, work, travel and access to public spaces.
Girls remain barred from education beyond primary school, while many women have been restricted from working in several sectors. Women also face limits on travelling without a male guardian and have been excluded from universities, parks, gyms and several public institutions.
Rights groups and UN officials have repeatedly warned that these restrictions are pushing Afghan women further out of public life. The Taliban says it respects women’s rights within its interpretation of Islamic law, but its policies have drawn widespread criticism from the international community.
The latest reported arrests in Herat have again highlighted the gap between Taliban assurances and the reality faced by women in Afghanistan. For many women, even appearing in public has become increasingly difficult under rules that are enforced through fear of detention and punishment.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, June 9, 2026
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