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At least 20 women and girls in Afghanistan have been dragged off the street and beaten in prison in the latest attack by the Taliban's morality police.
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women → see → police
The women were rounded up on Saturday in the Afghan capital of Kabul before being violently forced into the back of a vehicle by the enforcers, accompanied by female personnel.
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women → round → personnel
The incident comes as the Taliban expands their crackdown on fundamental freedoms and human rights, five years after the oppressive de facto regime seized control in Afghanistan.
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regime → come → Afghanistan
Footage obtained by local news outlet Amu TV showed several of the women, who were wearing hijabs, being beaten as they were apprehended.
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they → obtain → hijabs
One witness said a pregnant woman was among them, whose husband pleaded with the authorities to let her go.
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her → say → authorities
'They detained 20 girls and took them away,' one witness told the US-based Afghan broadcaster.
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witness → detain → broadcaster
Her husband was crying and saying, "My wife is unwell.
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wife → cry → ?
They hit her and dragged her away.'
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They → hit → her
Meanwhile, one of the victims described being 'grabbed [by her] collar' by the officers, who 'tore' it during the altercation.
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who → describe → altercation
The woman said: 'When the struggle began, I resisted for five minutes.
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I → say → minutes
When they could not overpower me, a man came, grabbed me and took me away.'
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man → overpower → me
The woman said she fought back before being slapped and made to wear a face mask.
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she → say → mask
'Look at how they treated me.
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they → look → me
When he slapped me in the face, I pulled off the mask and hit him with it, and I started fighting,' she said.
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she → slap → it
A woman wearing a burqa walked through rain to get food supplies donated during Ramadan in Kabul in March 2025
'I said I would not wear a mask and that from now on, as long as I am alive, I will not wear one.'
It is understood the women and girls were released after their families and local community representatives provided guarantees for them.
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families → wear → them
The incident adds to a string of oppressive attacks against Afghan women this year by the Taliban's morality police.
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incident → add → police
Last month, at least nine women were rounded up across two days as part of the regime's enforcement of strict Sharia law dress codes.
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women → round → codes
The women were detained in the city of Herat, despite them all wearing hijabs, according to Amu TV.
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them → detain → TV
The arrests come as the group has been ramping up its psychological abuse of women in Afghanistan.
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group → come → Afghanistan
According to a Herat resident, women are becoming increasingly afraid to leave their homes.
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women → accord → homes
'They harass women everywhere under the pretext of enforcing morality,' the resident said.
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resident → harass → morality
'Women are being detained, intimidated and subjected to psychological abuse, yet no one is listening.'
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one → detain → abuse
Another resident said four women were detained outside the Marble Market on Monday despite complying with the Taliban's dress requirements.
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women → say → requirements
'They were wearing hijab,' the resident said.
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resident → wear → hijab
'They were taken simply because they were wearing long coats.'
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they → take → coats
Residents in Kabul have also reported that Taliban morality police have been increasing their street patrols.
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police → report → patrols
Taliban patrols outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021
Supporters of Taliban government rally as part of celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August
An Afghan woman wearing a burqa walks along a market in Andkhoy, Faryab Province, Northern Afghanistan
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woman → rally → Andkhoy
Meanwhile, in the Panjshir province, the Taliban recently told female doctors working at a local hospital that they would not be allowed to work unless they wore a burqa.
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they → tell → burqa
The attack in Herat came just weeks after a protest against the Taliban's morality police left one person dead and several more wounded.
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protest → come → person
Officials opened fire on demonstrators during a protest back in June after dozens took to the streets to denounce the detention of women and girls arrested for violating the country's dress code.
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dozens → open → code
Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, north-west of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots.
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residents → obtain → gunshots
Protesters can be heard screaming as others were beaten to the ground by officials wielding long sticks.
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others → hear → sticks
Armed men can be seen breaking up the demonstration, including fully veiled women among the protesters.
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men → see → protesters
Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesman for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering had 'created tensions' and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation.
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he → tell → obligation
The demonstration followed days of growing outrage over the detention of women and girls in Herat, for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.
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demonstration → follow → requirements
Dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed, had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Amu TV claimed.
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TV → include → Vice
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily expanded restrictions on women and girls – including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment and increasingly strict regulations governing their appearance and movement in public.
Herat, long regarded as one of Afghanistan’s most socially and culturally vibrant cities, has undergone significant changes.
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Herat → return → changes
The human rights arm of the UN delivered a damning assessment of conditions in Afghanistan in a report released in March, warning that life for ordinary Afghans, especially women and girls, has severely worsened under the Taliban.
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life → deliver → Taliban
Presenting the report, UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk said: 'The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.'
Women remain excluded from all education above primary school age, following a ban from higher education since December 2022.
In November 2025, medical graduation examinations were held without the participation of women for the second consecutive year, after having been banned from medical institutes since December 2024.
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examinations → present → December
Women deemed not to be complying with the chador requirement – the traditional Islamic full-body cloak – have been removed from public transport and denied access to public markets and services.
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Women → deem → markets
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
