Human Rights Watch says the Taliban in Herat are violating women’s rights by forcing them to wear the burqa, a restriction that deprives women of the right to work, freedom of movement, and even affects their access to healthcare.
Since November 4, the Taliban have required women in Herat to wear the burqa — a rule that, according to HRW, is now enforced in schools, Taliban-run offices, and health facilities.
Women in Herat and elsewhere have protested instead of staying silent, chanting slogans such as “A woman’s body is not a political tool” and “I am a woman, not a shadow.”
According to HRW, the “imposition” of hijab is part of the Taliban’s policy to “control women’s bodies and erase them from public life.” UN human rights experts and Afghan activists have described the Taliban’s policies as “gender apartheid.”
HRW called on the international community to listen to Afghan women and take immediate action to hold the Taliban accountable.
Doctors Without Borders reported that during the first days of the new burqa mandate in Herat, patient admissions at Herat Regional Hospital dropped by 28 percent.
About ten days ago, the Taliban also barred Shabnam Fazli, a surgeon, from entering the regional hospital for not wearing a burqa and detained her for several hours — a fact confirmed by her husband but denied by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue.
Although the Taliban impose some of their policies through their enforcers, they often rely on families — especially in matters related to “controlling women” — to carry out these restrictions.
