Taliban Begin Arresting Afghan Women for Violating Islamic Dress Code

The United Nations Secretary-General's special representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, has stated that the Taliban movement has started arresting Afghan women for failing to comply with hijab regulations. 'Recently, the de facto authorities in Afghanistan have further restricted women's rights in all areas of public life. Women who, according to the new authorities, do not fully adhere to the hijab regulations are subject to arrest and detention. Some Afghan women are afraid to go out on the streets,' said Otunbayeva while addressing members of the UN Security Council.

At the beginning of January, the Taliban's Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice began actively enforcing the April 2022 decree regarding hijab-wearing, leading to the arrest and detention of women and girls who do not comply. These arrests have disproportionately affected urban women.