UN experts denounce Herat crackdown on women over dress code

KABUL: A group of United Nations experts has condemned a crackdown on women in the western Afghan city of Herat, saying at least two people were killed and more than 20 wounded during a protest against enforcement of dress restrictions.

Herat’s morality police began detaining dozens of women on Saturday for not wearing the body-covering chador or burqa. A protest against the measures on Tuesday was dispersed by force. The UN said a boy was shot dead during the protest, while witnesses told AFP that security forces opened fire. Police denied that any weapons were used.

In a statement issued on Thursday, 10 independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said the detentions and violence raised serious human rights concerns. The experts said women appeared to have been punished for exercising their rights to expression and freedom from gender discrimination.

"Allegations that women were detained for dress code violations are deeply concerning and may constitute arbitrary and unlawful detention, as it appears to penalise the exercise of their right to freedom of expression and right to be free from gender discrimination," the experts said in their statement.

"Equality, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and movement, and protection from arbitrary detention are fundamental rights," they added.

Dress code enforcement in Herat

The dress code is enforced by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, under which women are required to be almost fully covered when they leave their homes. Many women wear an abaya, a headscarf and a face covering instead of a chador or burqa.

The ministry has not commented on the detention of women in Herat over alleged dress code violations despite requests for comment from AFP. However, its department in Herat said new regulations had recently taken effect and warned that breaches could result in detention or imprisonment.

A list of rules published on Wednesday by the ministry’s Herat branch included prohibitions on make-up and visible hair, and instructed women to wear socks.

MSF staff member held for two days

The women detained in Herat included a medical worker employed by Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF. The organisation said she was on her way to work in the paediatric ward of Herat Regional Hospital when the morality police stopped her on Saturday and accused her of violating the dress code.

MSF said the medic was detained for two days and released only after she, her husband and other relatives signed a written undertaking to wear clothing required by the ministry.

In a statement, MSF said that it "is outraged by the arrest and detention of one of its employees as part of the enforcement of dress code requirements in the city."

"This incident is not isolated. Women in Afghanistan already face very severe restrictions on movement and access to public life," the organisation added.