Politics

Afghanistan: Taliban Arrests Girls for Violations of Hijab Rules

JAN 10 2024·Updated JAN 12 2024

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The Facts

The Taliban have detained dozens of young women across the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the past week, reportedly for "spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab."
guardian
According to a senior Taliban spokesperson, a group of women involved in "modeling" had been briefly detained and "advised in front of their family," adding that none of the women were imprisoned.
CBS News
The arrests were confirmed after multiple women were seen being pulled into police trucks from shopping centers, schools, and markets, allegedly for wearing makeup and violating hijab rules.
News18
The Taliban's de facto authorities, which are reportedly threatening families and demanding money for the detainees' release, have admitted to carrying out the arrest and punishment of women who violate "Islamic values and rituals."
Independent
A 16-year-old girl has claimed she was lashed on her feet and legs for arguing with the Taliban's morality police, while her father was thrashed for "raising immoral girls." During her two-day detention, she alleges the Taliban called her an atheist for studying English and desiring to travel abroad.
guardian
While they haven't specified what constitutes a bad hijab, the Taliban in 2022 issued a decree calling for women and girls to follow the organization's dress code, which includes wearing the hijab, or headscarf, and the full-body burqa.
ap

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Since retaking control of Afghanistan after the US military's withdrawal in August 2021, the Taliban have expedited their war against women. Their so-called dress code is inherently discriminatory, amounts to gender persecution, and violates women's fundamental rights, including freedom of opinion and expression. The latest operation in Kabul just intends to crack down on women and girls still bravely working in sectors like health and primary education.

Leaflet

Establishment-critical narrative

Contrary to Western propaganda, the Taliban respect and protect women, and are punishing a limited few who are attempting to pollute young minds and create divisions in Afghan society by improperly wearing the Islamic headscarf. Ironically, the wearing of a hijab is being de-contextualized and misrepresented by the West, which treats the rights of women in Afghanistan differently than the rights of women elsewhere in the world.