The Taliban’s Minister for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Khalid Hanafi, has rejected reports of women being detained in Herat province, describing them as “propaganda and rumors.”
Speaking on Monday during a visit to Herat, where he met with religious scholars and tribal elders from the country’s western provinces, Hanafi said that “intelligence circles” were spreading false propaganda against the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice by claiming that it detains women.
He also asserted that human rights in Afghanistan are safeguarded in accordance with Islamic principles, adding that the international community should instead focus on countries where, according to him, human rights are being violated.
His remarks come despite reports that the Taliban began detaining women in Herat last month on allegations of failing to comply with the mandatory hijab. In response to the arrests, a number of residents of the Jebrail area staged protests, during which, according to reports, Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has reported that, on the 27th and 28th of May alone, the Taliban detained at least 30 women for allegedly failing to observe the hijab and verbally threatened hundreds of others.
These incidents have prompted widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and the international community.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
