KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban fighters once again used force and opened fire on demonstrators in the western city of Herat on Friday, suppressing a second protest in less than a week over the detention of women and girls, local sources reported.
Despite a heavy military deployment that turned large parts of the city into a heavily militarized zone, residents gathered in the evening to protest the Taliban’s recent arrests and detention of dozens of women for allegedly violating the group’s strict dress code.
Videos circulating on social media showed protesters, including men, women, and children, chanting slogans such as “Woman, Life, Freedom,” “Death to the dictator,” and demands for women’s “right to education, right to work.”
Gunfire could be clearly heard in the footage as the Taliban forces moved in to disperse the crowd. No casualties have been reported so far from Friday’s protest in Herat.
The latest protest followed an initial demonstration on June 9 in Herat’s predominantly Hazara-populated Jibrail Neighbourhood, which erupted after days of mounting public anger over the detention of women. During that protest, Taliban forces reportedly opened fire directly on the crowd and beat demonstrators, killing at least one child and injuring around 20 others, according to local sources and videos.
Following the first protest, the Taliban deployed hundreds of armed fighters equipped with light weapons, rockets, and tanks across Herat and set up multiple checkpoints on major routes. Similar security measures were implemented in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi, a Hazara-populated neighbourhood in western Kabul, where large numbers of troops and military vehicles were positioned to head off potential unrest. No protests were reported in Kabul as of Friday evening.
The Taliban’s use of force against peaceful demonstrators and the detention of women and girls have also drawn strong international condemnation. The United Nations, human rights organizations, politicians, and citizens worldwide have called on the group to stop the violence against peaceful protesters and immediately release all detained women and girls.
