Taliban detains, lashes Afghan girls for disobeying hijab rules

Kabul: In the past week, girls as young as 16 have been detained for disobeying the Taliban's rules on the hijab in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The girls were accused of "spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab" and wearing makeup. They were detained in shopping centres, classrooms, and street markets.

Since seizing control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have tightened restrictions on women's access to public spaces, work opportunities, and education. They announced in May 2022 that women were to cover their entire body, leaving just their eyes visible, the Guardian reported.

Lale*, 16, claimed that she was taken into a police truck by the Taliban after being detained in her English language lesson with several other girls. As she attempted to argue with them, she claimed that she was lashed on her feet and legs and that girls who faced them and refused to leave were also beaten. Later, her father suffered severe beatings for "raising immoral girls."

“My attire was modest and even included a face mask – a precaution I had adopted since the Taliban takeover,” said Lale. “But they beat me anyway, insisting that my outfit was improper.”

Lale, who spent two days and nights in detention, claimed that the Taliban had cursed at them for being unbelievers, for learning English, and for wanting to go abroad.

Elders from the community intervened, and she signed a contract promising not to leave her home without covering her head. After that, she was released. Additionally, she is not allowed to attend her English classes.

“I was barred from school when the Taliban took over in 2021, and now I cannot even go to my private classes,” she said. “I can no longer imagine anything for my future other than staying home and getting married.

“I saw how badly my father was beaten because I went to the [English] course. When I saw his photos after returning home, I was so scared that I would lose him. I don’t have the motivation to study after this. I don’t want this experience again.”

The chief Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, asserted in a voice message to the Guardian that the families of the women who were arrested had complained to the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice about their daughters being encouraged by foreign organisations to promote "bad hijab."

“As a result, they were taken to police stations and freed on bail,” he said, adding that such arrests were “not usual practice”.

The detentions happened less than a week after the UN Security Council asked for a special envoy to meet with the Taliban and discuss issues related to women's rights and gender equality. But the Taliban turned this offer down, saying that forcing outside solutions would make matters more complicated.

Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at the New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch, said: “The arrests of women in Afghanistan are a further crackdown on the basic rights of women and can be intimidating and put more pressure even on women who are still working in the health, primary education and nutrition sectors, and they would not appear in public as they used to.”

Another female Afghan activist, who wished to remain anonymous, provided images and videos of men and women protesting in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood. The posters encourage people to live "beautiful lives" by "promoting and observing proper hijab."

The activist, who was present at the demonstrations, clarified that the families of the detainees were requesting the women's release and trying to stop more community arrests.

* Name changed to protect her identity.