KABUL, Afghanistan: A resident of Afghanistan’s Herat province said that Taliban regime members demanded money for the release of her daughter, who was detained in the city of Herat, Amu TV reported. He said that some women and girls remained in custody for days because their families could not pay for the release.
The father, whose name Amu TV withheld, said Taliban regime morality police detained his daughter and several other women while they were shopping in Herat’s Jebrail area. He said his daughter was wearing a long coat and observing the required dress code at the time.
He said that the Taliban regime initially denied the women were being held but acknowledged their detention after family members, a neighbourhood representative and local elders repeatedly sought information.
“After a lot of effort, we managed to speak with the official from the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” the father said, as quoted by Amu TV. “There were other families there whose daughters or sisters had also been detained.”
He said that the Taliban regime demanded two guarantors and 30,000 afghanis, about $450, before they would release his daughter.
“They told us that if two people provided guarantees and we paid 30,000 afghanis, we could take our daughter home,” he said. “We told them we could not afford that amount.”
After repeated discussions, he said, Taliban regime officials reduced the amount to 20,000 afghanis and told the family to return the following day because the women had to be “disciplined.”
The father said his daughter told him she had not been physically beaten but that the detained women had been subjected to intimidation.
“Some families who could not provide the money had their daughters kept in detention for several days,” he said.
Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, a spokesperson for the Taliban regime’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, rejected the allegations and said the ministry works to address problems facing women.
Khyber said the ministry’s morality enforcers had resolved 107 cases involving women over the past month, including disputes involving inheritance, marriages, financial support and divorce.
The allegations come amid concerns about the detention of women in Herat over dress and other restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan previously confirmed the detention of 30 women in Herat on June 6 and 7.
Zholia Parsi, a women’s rights activist who was previously imprisoned by the Taliban regime, alleged that women held in Taliban custody face serious abuses, including psychological torture, forced confessions and threats against their families.
“In Taliban prisons, there is rape, psychological torture, forced confessions and threats against families,” Parsi said. She also alleged that detainees were denied access to lawyers and family visits.
Fahim Farwak, a human rights activist, criticised the reported treatment of women, saying such actions were contrary to Islamic principles and international law.
The Taliban have imposed wide-ranging restrictions on women and girls since returning to power in August 2021, including restrictions on education, employment, movement and access to public spaces.
They say their policies regarding women are in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.
