AFGHANISTAN, Kabul — Agents from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested multiple young girls in western Kabul on Saturday, local sources told KabulNow.
Witnesses said the arrests took place in several parts of Dasht‑e‑Barchi, including a shopping mall, and it remains unclear where the girls were taken after being arrested. The arrests were carried out on accusations of “improper hijab,” a charge that has become increasingly common since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Since retaking control, the Taliban have reinstated the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and imposed strict dress codes. In August 2024, the group adopted a Vice and Virtue law that enforces sweeping limitations on women, requiring them to cover their faces and bodies in public.
In a February 2024 press release, UN experts reported that the Taliban have been arbitrarily arresting and detaining women and girls for alleged breaches of the law and other gender‑based restrictions, holding many of them without due process and subjecting them to intimidation.
The Taliban have intensified implementation of the Vice and Virtue law in recent days. Similar reports of women being detained have emerged from Kabul’s Shahr‑e‑Naw area.
The Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has denied detaining anyone in these incidents, insisting that its agents have only been “advising” women and girls on hijab requirements.
