HERAT: Afghanistan’s minister in charge of vice and virtue defended on Monday the crackdown on women’s dress code in the western city of Herat, saying it protected “dignity” and dismissing criticism as propaganda.

“Everything is fine in Herat,” Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) Minister Mohammad Khalid Hanafi told a press conference in Herat.

“There is no oppression or barbarism here, and the rights of our sisters are protected.” Dozens of women were detained by the Taliban government’s morality police in early June on accusations they were violating official dress codes by not wearing the body-cloaking chador or burqa.

That included a hospital worker employed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which strongly condemned the detention. A rare protest against the restrictions was violently dispersed with at least two people killed, according to the United Nations.

Across Afghanistan, women must be almost entirely covered when they leave home, with many wearing a flowing abaya robe, a Muslim headscarf and a face covering – not necessarily the burqa or chador. Hanafi said that “enemies” will portray this as the Taliban’s law and order but “it is God’s order”.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2026