Taliban Round Up Girls and Women Over Dress Code

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have rounded up dozens of girls and women in an apparent crackdown on perceived violations of the group's strict dress code.

Local media reported, dozens of women and girls were detained  last week in Kabul. It said, the girls, who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets were accused of spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab and wearing makeup.

The arrests by the Taliban's morality police occurred over several days and first came to light via videos and photos posted on social media. The Taliban confirmed the arrests after photos and video clips showed women being loaded onto police pickup trucks in the capital city.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Taliban's Vice



and Virtue Ministry said, the women were all either released on bail after several hours, or turned over to judicial authorities for further investigation. However, it was not clear how many people remained in custody after the mass arrests.

The detentions happened less than a week after the UN security council requested a special envoy to engage with the Taliban, particularly over gender and women’s rights. Meanwhile, the Taliban rejected this proposal.

Since taking power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have further restricted women’s access to education, employment and public spaces. In May 2022, they decreed that women should cover themselves from head to toe, revealing only their eyes.