Women Arrested in Herat as Rights Groups Criticize Growing Official Engagement with Taliban

Women Arrested in Herat as Rights Groups Criticize Growing Official Engagement with Taliban
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Human rights criticism of Taliban policies toward women in Afghanistan is continuing amid reports of women being arrested in Herat province and warnings that official engagement with the group could legitimize its human rights record.

Eyewitnesses said forces affiliated with the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested five women in different parts of Herat city, despite their adherence to hijab, according to the accounts. Witnesses said the women were wearing long coats, prayer shawls, and face coverings, but were still detained. The Taliban has not yet issued any clarification regarding the reasons for the arrests or the women’s places of detention.

In a related development, the Union of Human Rights Activists said granting the Taliban an official or diplomatic status ignores ongoing violations against women and girls and provides political cover for human rights abusers.

The union said Afghan women and girls have faced broad restrictions since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, including the ban on education beyond the sixth grade, restrictions on employment, tighter limits on movement and presence in public spaces, the arrest of female activists, suppression of women’s protests, and reports of abuses inside detention centers.

Rights activists warned that any political or diplomatic engagement with the Taliban without requiring respect for human rights could be understood as international acceptance of the group’s policies. They called on governments and international organizations to continue pressing for accountability and to distinguish between supporting the Afghan people and legitimizing Taliban rule.