Taliban morality police round up females - despite them wearing hijabs - as the group ramps up 'psychological abuse' on Afghan women

By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:58, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 10:58, 6 August 2026 The Taliban's morality police have rounded up at least nine females over the past two days in Afghanistan in a fresh move to enforce strict Sharia law dress codes.  The women were detained in the city of Herat, despite them all wearing hijabs, according to Amu TV - a US-based Afghan broadcaster.  The arrests come as the group has been ramping up its psychological abuse of women in Afghanistan.  According to a Herat resident, women are becoming increasingly afraid to leave their homes, telling Amu TV: 'They harass women everywhere under the pretext of enforcing morality,' the resident said.  'Women are being detained, intimidated and subjected to psychological abuse, yet no one is listening.' Another resident said four women were detained outside the Marble Market on Monday despite complying with the Taliban's dress requirements. 'They were wearing hijab,' the resident said. 'They were taken simply because they were wearing long coats.' Residents in Kabul have also reported that Taliban morality police have been increasing their street patrols in recent weeks.  The Taliban's morality police have rounded up at least nine females over the past two days in Afghanistan. Pictured: An Afghan woman wearing a burqa walks along a market in Andkhoy, Faryab Province, Northern Afghanistan The women were detained in the city of Herat, despite them all wearing hijabs, according to Amu TV. File image shows a square in Herat  Meanwhile, in the Panjshir province, the Taliban recently told female doctors working at a local hospital that they would not be allowed to work unless they wore a burqa.  The latest detention of Afghan women comes just weeks after a protest against the Taliban's morality police left one person dead and several more wounded.  Officials opened fire on demonstrators during a protest back in June after dozens took to the streets to denounce the detention of women and girls arrested for violating the country's dress code.  Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, northwest of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots. Protesters can be heard screaming as others were beaten to the ground by officials wielding long sticks. Armed men can be seen breaking up the demonstration, including fully veiled women among the protesters. Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesperson for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering had 'created tensions' and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation. The demonstration followed days of growing outrage over the detention of women and girls in Herat, for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic dress requirements. Dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed, had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Amu TV claimed. Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily expanded restrictions on women and girls - including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment and increasingly strict regulations governing their appearance and movement in public. Herat, long regarded as one of Afghanistan’s most socially and culturally vibrant cities, has undergone significant changes. The human rights arm of the UN delivered a damning assessment of conditions in Afghanistan in a report released in March, warning that life for ordinary Afghans, especially women and girls, has severely worsened under the Taliban. Presenting the report, UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk said: 'The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.' Women remain excluded from all education above primary school age, following a ban from higher education since December 2022. File image: A Taliban security personnel stands guard outside a mosque in Kabul In November 2025, medical graduation examinations were held without the participation of women for the second consecutive year, after having been banned from medical institutes since December 2024. Women deemed not to be complying with the chador requirement - the traditional Islamic full-body cloak - have been removed from public transport and denied access to public markets and services. Meanwhile, a new law demands that girls wait until puberty before seeking to get out of a marriage, and also requires mediation for women seeking to escape an abusive husband. 'The authorities have, in effect, criminalised the presence of women and girls in public life,' Türk said. 'Discrimination affects their healthcare, their access to civic space, and their freedom of movement and expression.' 'Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights,' he concluded