UN Experts Condemn Taliban's Suppression of Women in Herat, Report Two Deaths

Kathmandu. A group of United Nations experts has condemned the oppression of women in the western Afghan city of Herat, stating that at least two people have died during protests against the ban.

Recently, Herat police reported arresting dozens of women on Saturday on charges of not wearing full body covering clothes, chador or burqa.

The United Nations has stated that a protest against these rules was forcibly broken up and one protester was shot dead. Eyewitnesses said security forces fired shots to control the protest, but the police denied any use of weapons, AFP reported.

In a statement, ten independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council said that at least two people were killed and more than 20 were injured due to police repression of protesters.

The experts stated in the statement that the detention of women on charges of dress code violations is a worrying issue and that such illegal detention violates their freedom of expression.

Stating that equality, freedom of peaceful assembly, expression and movement, and security from arbitrary detention are fundamental rights, the experts said that these should not be controlled.

In Afghanistan, the dress code is dictated by the government, where women must wear clothes that completely cover their bodies when they go out of the house. It is reported that among the women detained in Herat is a medical worker working for Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

It is reported that the doctor, who works in the pediatric ward of Herat Regional Hospital, was stopped by the police on Saturday while going to Kailay and detained on charges of not following the dress code.

The doctor was released after two days after her husband and relatives signed a written commitment to compulsorily follow the dress code.

MSF has expressed anger over the arrest and detention of its staff due to the unnecessary imposition of the dress code. It is reported that women in Afghanistan have long faced strict restrictions on issues such as movement and access to public life.