A protest in Herat, Afghanistan, turned violent when Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators denouncing the arrest of women and girls for violating the country's strict dress code.

The $30 million toe in the water

The Taliban's return to power in August 2021 marked the beginning of a steady expansion of restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and university education, liimits on employment, and increasingly strict regulations governing their appearance and movement in public.

Since then, the Taliban has steadily tightened its grip on women's lives, with the human rights arm of the United Nations delivering a damning assessment of conditions in Afghanistan in a report released in March.

Why 4,000 unsold units became the prize

On Tuesday, a protest in Herat, Afghanistan, escalated into violence when Taliban forces opened fire on demonstrators denouncing the arrest of women and girls for violating the country's strict dress code.

Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents fleeing in panic down a street in Jibrail township, northwet of Herat City, as mutiple gunshots rang out.

Who is the unnamed buyer?

The demonstration followed days of mounting outrage over the detention of women in Herat for allegeldy failing to comply with the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.

Dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently verrified , had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, according to Amu TV.

What auditors flagged in the May filing

The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, strongly condemned the arrests, calling them illegal and unacceptable.

I am deeply alarmed that for a third consecutive day, scores of women in Herat continue to be arbitrarily arrested and detained for violating the Taliban's dress code, he wrote on social media.

The arrests must stop, and the women must be released immediately.

Tehran's two-track response

The latest violence in Herat underscores the escalating tensions as the Taliban enforces its restrictive policies with increasing brutality, drawing international condemnation and raising fears of further repression.

The human rights arm of the United Nations delivered a damning assessment of conditions in Afghanistan in a report released in March, warning that life for ordinary Afghans, especially women and girls, has severely worsened under the Taliban.

A familiar pattern from the 2019 crash

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily expanded restrictions on women and girls, including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment, and increasingly strict regulations governing their appearance and movement in public.

This protest appeared to be one of the largest public demonstrations in recent months directly challenging the Taliban's gender apartheid.