- According to the dress code, women must be fully covered when leaving the house.
- One killed, several injured in protest against this measure.
- MSF medical worker among women arrested by Afghan police.
A UN panel of experts on Thursday denounced a crackdown on women in the western Afghan city of Herat, saying at least two people had been killed during a protest against the restrictions.
Herat’s morality police began arresting dozens of women on Saturday because they were not wearing the chador or burqa that hides them.
On Tuesday, a protest against the measures was dispersed by force and a boy was shot dead, the UN said, while witnesses said AFP that security forces opened fire. Police denied weapons were used.
In a statement released Thursday, ten independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said at least two people had been killed and more than 20 injured.
“Allegations that women have been detained for dress code violations are deeply concerning and may constitute arbitrary and unlawful detention, as it appears to penalize the exercise of their right to freedom of expression and their right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex,” the experts said in their statement.
“Equality, peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and movement, as well as protection against arbitrary detention are fundamental rights,” the text adds.
The dress code is regulated by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV), and women must be almost completely covered when leaving the home.
Many women wear a flowing abaya, Muslim headscarf and face covering, rather than a chador or burqa.
MSF doctor arrested
Among the women detained in Herat was a medical worker employed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
She was on her way to the pediatric department of Herat Regional Hospital when she was arrested on Saturday by the moral police and accused of not respecting the dress code, the NGO said.
The doctor was detained for two days and released after having to sign, with her husband and his relatives, a written commitment to wear the clothing prescribed by the PVPV.
MSF “is outraged by the arrest and detention of one of its employees in connection with compliance with the city’s clothing requirements,” the group said.
“This incident is not isolated. In Afghanistan, women already face very severe restrictions on movement and access to public life.”
The PVPV has not commented on the detention of women in Herat for dress code violations, despite requests for comment from AFP.
However, the ministry’s department in Herat said new regulations had recently come into force and warned that violations could lead to detention or imprisonment.
A list of rules to follow released by Herat’s PVPV wing on Wednesday included a ban on wearing makeup or having visible hair, as well as an order to wear socks.
