Statement by the Afghanistan Women’s Organization for Equality

Regarding the Arrest and Detention of Women Under the Pretext of Enforced Dress Code

The Afghanistan Women’s Organization for Equality expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation regarding recent credible reports of mass detentions, arrests, and degrading treatment of women in Herat and other provinces of Afghanistan under the pretext of non-compliance with the Taliban’s enforced dress code and restrictive clothing regulations.

These actions constitute a serious and systematic violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to dignity, personal liberty, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. They further reflect an institutionalized pattern of exclusion, control, and the gradual erasure of women from public life in Afghanistan.

The use of intimidation, coercion, arbitrary detention, and punitive measures to impose a specific dress code on women is incompatible with international human rights law and lacks any legal, moral, or legitimate justification. Such practices create an atmosphere of fear and repression, with severe and long-lasting consequences on the psychological well-being, social participation, and civic engagement of women and girls.

We firmly state that no woman should be subjected to harassment, arrest, violence, or discrimination on the basis of her clothing, presence in public spaces, or exercise of her basic human rights. Respect for human dignity, bodily autonomy, and individual freedoms are universal principles that must be upheld without exception.

The Afghanistan Women’s Organization for Equality calls upon the United Nations human rights mechanisms, relevant UN bodies, international human rights organizations, and the global community to break their silence and take urgent, concrete, and effective measures to halt these escalating violations and ensure accountability for those responsible.

We further reaffirm our full solidarity with the women of Afghanistan—women who, despite severe restrictions, systemic discrimination, and ongoing repression, continue to stand for dignity, justice, equality, and the right to live free and dignified lives.

Silence in the face of such systematic oppression contributes to the normalization of human rights violations and undermines the core values of international law and justice.

Afghanistan Women’s Organization for Equality

Date: 9 June 2026