Violent crackdown after rare demonstration over women’s rights in Afghanistan

An Afghan woman walks out of a cell inside the women's section of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

Afghan men held a rare rally Tuesday in the western city of Herat over new restrictions against women, with police denying witness accounts to AFP that protesters were dispersed with live fire.

Dozens of men gathered in response to a crackdown three days earlier by the Taliban government’s morality police, who detained women not wearing the body-cloaking chador or burqa.

A 33-year-old protester said the security forces “used sticks, whips and firearms to disperse the crowd. They even fired shots into the air.”

Along with other residents, he spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns.

The city’s police force denied that any weapons were used when asked by AFP, accusing demonstrators of seeking “to disturb public order”.

Protests are incredibly unusual in Afghanistan, where the Taliban authorities have ruled according to a strict interpretation of Islamic law since August 2021.

The protester told AFP he saw people wounded, which AFP was unable to verify independently.

“People are extremely frightened,” he said.

A photographer at the rally said he saw the security forces “striking protesters and firing weapons in the direction of the crowd.”

“Based on what I personally witnessed, a significant number of people were injured,” the photographer said in a statement shared with AFP.

Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said in a post on X he was “alarmed by (the) excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat.”

A third witness told AFP they saw dozens of people protesting in support of women.

One resident said people returning from the rally site “appeared very worried.”

“They said that female police officers could also be seen inside the vehicles patrolling the area,” the 32-year-old said.

People gathered at the site after a social media announcement calling for residents to “defend the rights of our sisters.”

Saeed Masoud Hussaini, spokesman for Herat police, said people “attempted to gather and create tensions under the pretext of protesting issues related to the observance of the hijab” dress code.

“Thanks to the timely presence of security forces, the situation was brought fully under control, and further escalation of tensions was prevented,” he told AFP.

Across Afghanistan, women must be almost entirely covered when they leave home, with many wearing a flowing abaya robe, a Muslim headscarf and a face covering.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which deploys morality police officers to enforce the law, did not comment on women in Herat being detained over the dress code when contacted by AFP.