Intensified Dress Code Enforcement in Herat
Since November, Taliban officials in Herat, Afghanistan, have increased enforcement of dress codes for women and girls. This surge in enforcement has included preventing women from accessing hospitals and seminaries, and removing them from public transport.
Initially, enforcement focused strictly on the burka. However, following reported pushback from residents, officials later permitted women to wear a voluminous cloak known as a chaddar and a face mask, which is a common conservative dress in the region.
Impact on Essential Services and Women's Rights
At Herat's main hospital, female staff reportedly shared burkas to gain entry, and one female surgeon was detained for not wearing one for several hours. This policy reportedly led to a 28% drop in urgent admissions at health clinics supported by Doctors Without Borders during the initial days of the crackdown, though numbers later recovered.
Sahar Fetrat, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, stated that forcing women to cover their faces is 'part of the Taliban's policy of controlling women's bodies to make women invisible.' Afghan women and UN human rights experts have referred to this as 'gender apartheid.'
Edicts from the Ministry of Virtue
The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, responsible for implementing the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law, oversaw the enforcement. The crackdown aligns with an edict from May 2022, which mandated either a burka or a black robe, headscarf, face veil, and gloves for women who had reached puberty.
Male guardians were made responsible for compliance, with threats of punishment for non-adherence. Further detailed rules were issued in August 2024.
Kate Clark, co-director and senior analyst of Afghanistan Analysts Network, noted that the enforcement of these rules often occurs in waves, with periods of intensified action followed by easing.
Local Incidents and Escalating Restrictions
Herat, located near the Iranian border, has historically been considered more liberal than other Afghan cities. At the Herat Regional Hospital, agents reportedly denied entry to female patients and staff not wearing a burka. This policy particularly affected impoverished women seeking treatment, leading medical staff to share burkas.
At religious seminaries, vice agents demanded teenage girls wear burkas. In one reported incident, a standoff occurred where students refused to enter. Following a confrontation, girls were permitted entry but were required to wear a black niqab (face veil) and gloves.
Enforcement later shifted for older women to require a chaddar. Checkpoints were established to inspect women's attire in vehicles. Women were initially ordered to sit in the back of shared minibuses, and subsequently banned from sharing minibuses with men entirely. This ban reportedly increased public transport costs for women and led to scrutiny by officials regarding a woman's attire and the presence of a male guardian.
Two health workers reported witnessing women being detained in a shipping container in Herat for several hours in November for not wearing a chaddar.
The transport restrictions have led some female health workers to walk for an hour each way to their jobs, with one worker stating a belief that the intent is to prevent women from leaving their homes.