Dozens of men gathered in the Afghan city of Herat on Tuesday to protest new restrictions on women. Protesters said police tried to disperse the protesters by firing live rounds. The police denied their claims, writes TASR according to a report by the AFP agency.
- Dozens of men in Herat protested against new restrictions aimed at women.
- The police in Herat deny the shooting and accuse the protesters of disturbing public order.
The men staged a protest in response to a recent crackdown by the Taliban’s moral police in Herat province. She arrested women there who were not wearing a chador or a burqa covering the whole body.
One protester told AFP that security forces used “sticks, whips and firearms” to disperse the crowd. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.
The police there denied the use of weapons and accused the demonstrators of trying to “disrupt public order”. A police spokesman said people “attempted to gather and create tension under the pretext of protesting the observance of the hijab dress code”. According to him, the security forces brought the situation under control and prevented further escalation of tension.
Injuries and fear of repression
According to the protesters, people were injured, but the French news agency could not independently verify this information.
A photographer who attended the rally saw security forces “hitting protesters and firing weapons at the crowd.” “Based on what I personally saw, a significant number of people were injured,” he told AFP.
UN response and local protests
The UN special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, expressed concern on the social network X about the “excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat”.
AFP reports that protests are unusual in Afghanistan. The Taliban have ruled there since August 2021 and enforce their strict interpretation of Islamic law. He introduced extensive restrictions on women and girls, including access to education, employment and sports, and in the way they dress. Women must be almost completely covered when leaving the house, and many wear the abaya, which covers the entire body except for the head, hands and feet, along with the head covering of the hijab.
