Taliban disperses rare women's-rights protest in Herat amid disputed reports of deaths

A rare protest in the western Afghan city of Herat has been dispersed by Taliban police after demonstrators gathered over restrictions on women, according to witness accounts and officials. The rally took place on Tuesday and centred on recent detentions of women accused of violating the Taliban's dress code rules. Reports from the scene say security forces moved in to break up the crowd, while police denied using live fire.

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Witnesses said the crowd formed after a social media call to defend women's rights, and that dozens of people gathered in support of women. One 33-year-old protester said officers used sticks, whips and firearms to disperse the demonstration, adding that shots were fired into the air. A photographer at the rally said he saw security forces striking protesters and firing weapons towards the crowd, while police said demonstrators were trying to disturb public order.

Casualty claims remain disputed. One witness told reporters they saw people wounded, but that could not be independently verified. Medics told one outlet that two people died and others were injured, although that account has not been confirmed by the authorities.

Herat police spokesman Saeed Masoud Hussaini said the situation was brought fully under control and that further escalation was prevented. The incident is significant because public protests are rare in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, particularly on issues linked to women's rights. Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban authorities have enforced a strict interpretation of Islamic law, including rules on women's dress and movement.

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The latest rally appears to have been triggered by a crackdown three days earlier by the morality police, who detained women not wearing the body-cloaking chador or burqa. The protest also drew an international response. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said he was alarmed by what he described as excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat.

His comments add to wider scrutiny of the Taliban's treatment of women and of public dissent, both of which have been tightly restricted since the group returned to power. The reported use of force in a city as large and politically important as Herat may also deepen concern about how local security forces are handling unrest. What remains unclear is the exact number of people injured or killed, and whether live fire was used directly against protesters or only fired into the air.

The police account and witness descriptions differ sharply, and the casualty claims have not been independently verified. It is also not clear whether there will be any formal investigation into the dispersal or the earlier detentions that prompted the rally.

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