In the first week of 2024, 16-year-old girls were arrested in the Afghan capital Kabul for violating Taliban-imposed hijab rules.
The girls were detained in shopping centres, classrooms and street markets and accused of “spreading and encouraging others to improperly wear hijab” and wear make-up.
Lale, 16, said the Taliban arrested her along with several other girls in an English class and dragged her into a police truck. She said the girls, who confronted the men and refused to go, were beaten and she herself was whipped on her legs and feet when she tried to reason with them. Her father was later severely beaten for “raising immoral girls”. Lale added:
“My attire was modest and even included a face mask – a precaution I had adopted since the Taliban takeover. But they beat me anyway, insisting that my outfit was improper.”
Lale was detained for two days and one night and was released only after the intervention of community elders. She signed a document pledging not to leave the house without the mandatory head covering. She was also banned from attending English classes. She said:
“I was barred from school when the Taliban took over in 2021, and now I cannot even go to my private classes. 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.”
Girls are banned from attending school after the age of 12 and women are banned from attending universities. They are also banned from parks, sports, working in many industries including international non-profit organisations, banned from running beauty salons and public baths, and even from travelling outside the home without a male escort.
When the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan from 1994 to 2001, they routinely arrested men and boys for shaving or trimming their beards, wearing jeans or other Western clothing, and jailed them for days.
Since taking power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have further restricted women’s access to education, work and public spaces. In May 2022, they decreed that women must be covered from head to toe, revealing only their eyes.
