The arrests, which occurred primarily in the neighborhoods of Qala-e Fathullah, Kote-e Sangi, Dasht-e-Barchi, and Shahr-e-Naw, raise serious questions about human rights and the condition of women in Afghanistan.
Between Friday, July 17, and Saturday, July 18, by order of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, several young women were taken away—literally seized—without specific charges. According to local sources and direct testimonies gathered by Afghanistan International and witnesses on site, the arrests took place on the street, even in the city center. An eyewitness reported that the Taliban used particular violence during the operations, partly due to the absence of female officers.
This new wave follows by just a few days a similar raid on Wednesday, July 15, in Shahr-e-Naw, where nearly 100 young women were arrested. Their families, who still do not know where they have been taken, are very worried; they reported that the women were arrested despite most of them wearing the Islamic veil, taken from streets, markets, minibuses, and even hospitals, and transferred to detention centers without any reasons being provided.
A video released by Afghanistan International shows several terrified women surrounded by the Taliban, one of them shouting: “You have deprived us of life, education, and school; what more do you want? Fear God!” Some of the women arrested on Wednesday were released after one night, but only after their families provided written guarantees.
So far, the Taliban have not provided any official explanation for these mass detentions. Simultaneously with the arrests, Taliban agents have reportedly conducted inspections in restaurants in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul, where the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice regularly checks dining areas and orders women to cover their faces in public.
These events have triggered strong condemnations. The Freedom Front, which has targeted Taliban fighters and officials in recent months, announced that the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice will now be a target of “legitimate attacks.”
Prominent figures such as former Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Omar Daudzai have also sharply criticized the Taliban’s “arbitrary” actions, calling them proof of their “unreliability.” Former jihadist leader Abdurrab Rasool Sayyaf has also strongly condemned the detention of women and girls, deeming it unjustified and contrary to “human decency” and “Afghan pride.”
These arrests are part of a broader framework of repression and violence against women in Afghanistan. The case of Marina Sadat is emblematic: a 23-year-old student arrested in December 2023 in the Dasht-e-Barchi area for “improper use of the hijab.” After 21 days of searching by her family, her tortured body was found with evident signs of brutal violence. Marina’s family continues to receive threats, highlighting the brutality and long-term consequences of Taliban actions.
The systematic removal of women from public life through arbitrary detentions, restrictions, and violence is a clear manifestation of the gender apartheid afflicting the country—a deliberate, harsh, and continuous problem that demands clear condemnation and immediate action from the international community.
