Protests in Herat Over Taliban Restrictions on Women

The United Nations has expressed significant concern regarding the arrest of numerous women in Afghanistan, following protests supporting these detained individuals. These demonstrations have reportedly resulted in two fatalities.

In Herat, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, public protests were organized in response to severe restrictions placed on women by the Taliban. Authorities have implemented extensive security measures to address these gatherings.

Demonstrators reportedly marched to a government building in Herat, displaying signs and chanting slogans like “Women, Work and Freedom.” Although videos of the protests circulated online and in local media, their authenticity has not been verified by independent sources.

The protests planned for Friday followed earlier demonstrations on Tuesday, which led to the deaths of two individuals, including a young boy, and injuries to over 20 people, as reported by the United Nations.

Contrary to witness reports and the United Nations, Sayed Masoud Hussaini, a police spokesperson in Herat, refuted allegations of arrests or injuries among the protestors, whom he referred to as “agitators.”

On Tuesday, numerous men and women, their faces obscured by scarves and masks, gathered in a Herat public square, chanting “education, work and freedom.”

Herat’s neighborhood, known for its past social liberalism compared to other Afghan regions, comprises many Hazaras and Afghan refugees expelled by Iran the previous year. The slogans used in the protests drew inspiration from Iran’s “Woman, life, freedom” protest movement that occurred in 2022.