Afghan Women Face Arrest and Trauma Over a Simple Greeting

In Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, women move cautiously through public spaces under the watch of the Taliban’s “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice,” whose patrols have revived a climate of fear and control.

Women and girls know that venturing into the streets risks arbitrary arrest, humiliation, and even torture. The mere mention of the religious police makes them tremble, and fearing for their lives, they try to hide wherever they can.

The story of Fahima in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan province, shows how easily women can become victims of this brutality.

Fahima was on her way to her aunt’s home to give Eid greetings when she casually greeted her aunt’s young son and stopped for a brief chat. They had barely exchanged a few words when a white vehicle belonging to the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice pulled up beside them. Armed men with fierce expressions jumped out, shouting insults and threats, and demanded to know Fahima’s relationship with the young man. She explained he was her cousin. Nevertheless, the Taliban seized both of them and forced them into the vehicle before speeding away.

“I was there and saw it happen,” a witness later said. Fahima was detained from noon until eleven at night. Her father went to the station and managed to convince the Taliban of the true relationship, and she was eventually released.

The ordeal left Fahima deeply traumatized. She struggles to sleep, wakes trembling with fear, and refuses to leave the house under any circumstances, not even for medical help.

Fahima’s case is far from unique. During Eid, dozens of girls and women in Badakhshan faced threats, insults, and beatings from Taliban gunmen patrolling the roads. Such incidents have become a grim routine for Afghan women.

Women in Afghanistan face severe restrictions: they cannot go to entertainment venues, parks, or shopping alone; they must be accompanied by a male family member. They cannot pursue education in specialized or technical fields, appear in the media, or even see a male doctor without a guardian.

Since regaining power in August 2021, the Taliban have issued at least 118 decrees restricting women, dictating their dress, banning employment in certain sectors, and limiting educational opportunities.

The mounting pressures have led many Afghan women to experience mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. Despair, poverty, and unemployment have contributed to a rise in suicides.

The Taliban do not acknowledge that their actions cause these effects, and no official statistics exist. Yet at weddings, funerals, or community gatherings, discussions often reveal personal experiences of trauma, mental breakdown, and violence.

These pressures have severely affected women’s morale. Any attempt to protest restrictions is met with threats, imprisonment, sexual assault, and even death. Afghan women have lost even the ability to speak out or demand their rights.