Women | More than 50 women detained or warned solely over hijab

ACW | 17 October 2026 — The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Thursday (15 October) in its latest update that Taliban morality police arbitrarily detained at least 443 people over three months.

According to the update, which covers July to September 2026, the detentions were mostly over alleged violations of Taliban rules on hijab, beards and hairstyles, compulsory prayer and the ban on music. UNAMA also documented 97 cases of ill-treatment of women and men by morality police.

UNAMA said that in more than 50 cases women were detained, held or warned solely over alleged hijab violations, most of them in Herat province, followed by Kabul and Badakhshan. In one case, a 13-year-old girl was held overnight and released the next day after her father intervened.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the findings, Reuters reported, saying the detentions were lawful and accusing UNAMA of propaganda against the Taliban administration.

Why it matters: The report shows that what people in Afghanistan wear, how they look and even how they worship is now tied to the threat of detention — an issue that bears directly on women's rights and on freedom of religion or belief.

On 27 September, Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, confirmed that women and girls had been detained in Herat and Kabul over their clothing, calling non-compliance with hijab rules a "very serious offence," Afghanistan International reported.

Afghanistan Christian Watch will continue to follow this story.

Sources: UNAMA — Update on the Human Rights Situation, July–September 2026; Reuters; Afghanistan International; KabulNow