Residents of Panjshir province say the Taliban has intensified restrictions on women’s movement, reportedly preventing those not wearing a burqa from travelling freely and subjecting them and those accompanying them to harassment and violence.
Speaking to Afghanistan International on Friday, several residents reported that Taliban morality police have established new checkpoints across the province, particularly targeting women not dressed in the full-body chadari (burqa).
“In Panjshir today, women are being pulled out of vehicles at checkpoints and harassed for not wearing a chadari,” one local resident said. “Drivers are even beaten for transporting women without one.”
A resident of Rokha district confirmed that Taliban forces have been aggressively confronting women over dress code violations and intimidating the public in recent days.
In addition to the crackdown on women’s dress, locals say the Taliban has also escalated efforts to restrict mobile phone use. Both men and women have reportedly been warned not to carry smartphones, and several residents say the warnings have become increasingly forceful.
“We were planning to travel to Kabul,” one resident said, “but the Taliban stopped us because the women in our group weren’t wearing burqas, even though they were fully covered.”
Local sources say the Taliban began enforcing these new measures on Thursday and that the situation has worsened since.
The reported crackdown in Panjshir mirrors similar actions recently seen in Kabul, where Taliban authorities have arrested women in various districts for what they claim is “improper hijab.”
