A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people killed by security forces. Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained. Witnesses told Rukshana Media that about 70 people joined the demonstration on Tuesday despite a heavy [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) security presence, chanting slogans including “Education, work and freedom” and denouncing what they described as the arbitrary arrests of women. “People were afraid, but they still came out,” said one resident. In response, witnesses say, Taliban forces fired on the crowd and later deployed special units to disperse the gathering. Local sources said two people were killed, three wounded and at least 13 others detained after being beaten by officials. In one video shared with the Guardian from the Jibrail district of Herat, armed Taliban fighters can be seen shooting at dozens of protesters. A woman’s voice can be heard screaming over the sound of gunfire, chanting: “_Azadi_”(freedom in Dari). In a second video, women can be heard saying: “They are shooting.” “People are angry,” said Fereshta Abassi, of Human Rights Watch. “As far as we know, the Taliban have arrested some women in the past few days, and that’s apparently why their family members and others have been protesting \[against\] these rules. They see the Taliban as interfering in people’s privacy, which is unacceptable.” Since the Taliban’s return to power, women and girls have been [barred from nearly every aspect of public life](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/nov/14/women-girls-afghanistan-taliban-repression-interviewed-photographed-100-afghan-women): schools, universities, most jobs and even parks. Protests are rare in Afghanistan, with the Taliban having banned all forms of unauthorised gatherings, responding to dissent with attacks, detention and torture of protesters. Local activists claimed that the women arrested were, in fact, dressed modestly. In a deeply conservative society such as Afghanistan, inappropriate contact with a woman can be seen as a violation of family honour and dignity. [ Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new law, activists warn ](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/may/22/taliban-legitimising-child-forced-early-marriage-law-women-rights) “They were arrested wearing full hijab and were manhandled despite being fully covered, which was considered a violation by their family members,” said Maryam\*. “We organised through WhatsApp groups to defend our sisters,” one organiser said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “People are angry about the arrests, unemployment and the continued closure of schools.” Samira Hamidi, regional campaigner for Amnesty International, said: “Today’s protest, especially with the participation of men after a long time, reflects growing public anger at the Taliban’s five years of systematic targeting of women and girls, and the intensifying repression of personal freedoms across Afghanistan. “The reported arbitrary detention of women for alleged hijab violations, followed by the violent suppression of those protesting these abuses, demonstrates the Taliban’s continuing reliance on fear and brutality to silence dissent.” Taliban authorities were contacted for comment but a spokesman in Herat told the Taliban-controlled National Television that reports about women being detained over their hijab were “baseless” and no woman had ever been arrested for this reason. \* _Name changed to protect their identity_

The [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones. In one video published online, a Taliban official appears to be shown reading the banning order from his phone while the other person is shown breaking phones. The order states: “If anyone uses one, their mobile phone will be smashed and legal and sharia punishment will be imposed on the violator.” It adds that any exemptions require a written decree from the Taliban supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The Guardian was unable to reach a Taliban spokesperson.  Video appears to show Taliban officials smashing up smartphones after ban announced Reports and sources inside [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) say that the bans are being implemented in an “ad-hoc” way – in some areas targeting only government officials, in some cities and provinces extending to women, civilians, medical workers, schoolteachers and students. “A lot of things happen at the local level, because of what someone local has decided. But also, it could be a prelude to a blanket ban and they are just testing the waters,” said an analyst who works on Afghanistan. The bans come after escalating efforts by the Taliban to completely cut Afghanistan off from the global internet. In September, authorities ordered an [internet blackout](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/30/afghanistan-mobile-phones-internet-telecoms-blackout-taliban) which lasted two days and was vaguely justified by concerns over pornography; the order said the cutoff was to “prevent immorality”. The Afghanistan analyst said that cutoff was done hastily and with a lack of foresight. It froze commerce across the country and affected emergency services and aviation. “The private sector was freaking out, the banking sector was freaking out, even their own people – the security sector and the supreme leader’s office – and they realised ‘OK guys, we didn’t really think this through’, so they put it back on,” the analyst said. There are probably several factors driving the latest ban. First, the [street demonstrations that broke out](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/10/two-killed-in-rare-street-demonstration-over-womens-rights-in-afghanistan) in the western city of Herat after the Taliban arrested women and girls for “improper hijab”. In the course of the protests, Taliban forces appeared to fire into a crowd and killed at least two people. This event may have provided some impetus for the restrictions, said the analyst. “The videos that came out of the protests in Herat raised a lot of alarms. The emirate was trying to contain it. In the beginning, they denied it. They said, no, no, this didn’t happen. Then the videos started coming out.” However, the Taliban were pushing smartphone bans before the protests – for reasons including fear of internal leaks, and worries that they were eroding productivity among officials. In the province of Herat, in western Afghanistan, two government employees said that bans on smartphones had been in place for months. “About two months ago they said not to bring your mobile phones to the office,” said one. “Me and a few colleagues didn’t take it seriously. They confiscated them, and after we made a fuss about it, they smashed our phones” – a loss he estimated at about 8,000 afghanis (£95). The Taliban worry that “people are just on their phones all the time and they’re not working. And, you know, smartphones shouldn’t belong at work,” said the analyst. Then there is the problem of leaks: there are a lot of them, said the analyst, because government officials are using their smartphones to photograph documents – and record the occasional meeting – and then allowing these, one way or another, to make it out into the public before the supreme leader signs it off. Employees wasting time online and leaking information may be part of the usual challenges of governance. The difference, said the analyst, is the Taliban’s approach to it. “Smartphones and being online affecting productivity to a certain extent is universal. The difference here is that I haven’t seen any other countries legislating against it.” * _Zahra Nader is editor-in-chief at Zan Times_

The Taliban in [Afghanistan](https://www.theguardian.com/world/afghanistan) have launched a diplomatic effort to end their isolation as major regional and international powers show a readiness to engage more closely with the repressive regime despite its systematic human rights abuses. [Five years after the Taliban took power](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/04/five-years-taliban-rule-afghan-women-and-girls-need-our-help), an increasing number of countries are renewing ties or scaling up diplomatic contacts with the hardline Islamists, who seized power in Kabul in 2021 after 20 years of brutal insurgent warfare. Campaigners fear that the individual contacts by different countries risk undermining “coherent, consistent” demands for an improvement in [human rights](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/aug/07/afghanistan-women-taliban-violence-battered-beaten) in return for any diplomatic concessions. The United Nations described a recent “cascade of \[Taliban\] edicts and laws” that have banned women from universities and most employment, denied teenage girls education and imposed strict dress codes. Minorities have been persecuted, while activists and journalists face repression. Afghanistan has become a [“graveyard for human rights,”](https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2026/03/report-afghanistans-human-rights-situation-continues-deteriorate-dramatically) the UN said in March. India, Qatar, China, Iran and several central Asian states all recently welcomed Taliban officials or opened new channels of communication. Russia, which recognised the Taliban government in Kabul just over a year ago, signed a military cooperation agreement last month. In June, the European Union held talks with Taliban officials in Brussels about [returning failed asylum-seekers](https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/external-publications/eus-pragmatic-turn-toward-taliban) to Afghanistan. Individual European countries have also deepened their own contacts with Kabul. “There is no doubt there has been an evolution. The Islamic emirate is now in a confident position. They have realised they are indispensable for regional countries right now and even with [Europe](https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) and the US they have identified how to engage,” said Shivam Shekhawat, at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi.  The promises the Taliban made to women, then broke – video explainer “The [Taliban](https://www.theguardian.com/world/taliban) see any kind of contact as a diplomatic win and they have been able to capitalise on that as a sign granting legitimacy to the regime.” A strict policy of isolation imposed after the Taliban seized power in 2021 towards informal or “de facto” recognition is now fragmenting. Some western commentators have suggested [more countries recognise](https://conference.sciencespo.fr/content/2025-01-06/is-it-time-to-recognise-the-taliban-government-in-afghanistan_xQAYD80fsiN43o8DiDpy) the regime. Others want intensified [“back channel”](https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/02/what-west-can-do-now-taliban-ruled-afghanistan) engagement. “We are not against any engagement … There is a need for engagement even if just for aid agencies to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis but we are worried about the end goal of these contacts and the discussions that are taking place,” said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch. “There should be a consistent and coherent message from the international community to the Taliban that they will not have any friends if they do not show real progress in terms of the women’s rights and human rights situation … and that is not happening.” The new contacts stem from a combination of regional security concerns, pressure in the west to reduce illegal immigration and a general recognition that the Taliban are unlikely to be forced from power in the foreseeable future. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/concern-grow-global-ties-taliban-afghanistan-human-rights#img-2) A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul. Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP The European Commission downplayed its discussions in Brussels with a Taliban delegation, the first such formal encounter since 2021, as merely “[technical](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/eu-hosts-taliban-officials-brussels-first-time-2026-06-23/)” and focused on returns, but a Taliban spokesperson claimed it was a historic visit that was a step towards [regularising consular relations](https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/eu-hosts-taliban-officials-brussels-first-time-2026-06-23/) with EU countries. The meeting prompted outrage. “You cannot condemn Taliban abuses in one breath and then announce talks on immigration in the next … The Taliban are telling their constituency back home that they are now accepted by the international community,” said Abbasi. This year officials from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have all visited Kabul or other Afghan cities, seeking trade routes and [pipeline](https://thekabultribune.com/en/0009922) deals that would allow their landlocked countries access to seaports or third countries beyond. India too has moved to reinforce relationships that were frosty after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021, in part to exploit new tensions between the movement and the Islamist movement’s historic sponsors, Pakistan. New Delhi secured a sanctions waiver last year so that Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban foreign minister and a veteran official who has spent decades at the heart of the movement, could travel there. In June, India’s UN envoy suggested a rethink was necessary on sanctions, such as travel bans, asset freezes and arms embargoes, that target dozens of Taliban members. “The political reality of Afghanistan has changed in the last five years, and the current UN sanctions regime must take that into account,” said Harish Parvathaneni. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/concern-grow-global-ties-taliban-afghanistan-human-rights#img-3) Taliban security personnel take part in a parade in front of the former US embassy in Kabul to celebrate the fifth anniversary of their return to power Photograph: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images Afghan authorities’ diplomatic strategy has involved hosting envoys in Kabul, including those from China, Japan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, made the first visit by an Iranian foreign minister to Kabul for almost a decade. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan “seeks relations with all countries”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, though “the countries of the region and our neighbouring states have particular importance, because our economic ties and interests are closely linked”. Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute focusing on Russia’s policy towards the Middle East, said Moscow had multiple reasons for recognising the Taliban regime and seeking closer relations. “One likely objective is simply having allies … Afghanistan is also very significant for Russia geographically and Russia just wants influence in that part of the world. There was an opening and they were able to take it,” Borshchevskaya said. “It’s a very cold, cynical calculation. It’s part of a very simple zero-sum view that for Russia to win the US has to lose. From the Kremlin perspective, this is a global battle and whether you are looking at Europe or Afghanistan or wherever, it’s one geopolitical chessboard.” Britain has said it pursues a policy of “limited and pragmatic” engagement with Taliban officials, largely through the [UK Mission to Afghanistan](https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-kabul) based at the British embassy in Qatar. Discreet meetings with the Taliban have also repeatedly been held by other western countries in Qatar. In Germany and at least four other western European capitals, key consulates are now controlled by the Taliban, not representatives of the former Afghan government. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/concern-grow-global-ties-taliban-afghanistan-human-rights#img-4) A convoy of Taliban fighters in the days after the fall of Kabul in 2021. Photograph: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images Taliban officials have also sought cross-border infrastructure projects to boost the country’s fragile economy and diplomacy. Natural resources are another lure for overseas powers. Kabul has expanded the mining sector, attracting firms from neighbouring China and elsewhere. China, which is worried about Islamic militancy on and around its south-western borders, has welcomed Taliban officials in recent years, and hosted talks when Afghanistan and Pakistan went to war earlier this year. The Taliban are split, with [deep disagreements](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7vdpy1l2vo) on the ban on women’s education among other issues, but remain dominated by the most conservative factions. Recent laws have further reinforced repression, designating many religious minorities, including Shia Muslims, as heretics and imposing strict punishments to silence dissent. Other new laws recognise only “excessive” beating as domestic violence against women and facilitate the marriage of girls without their consent. Analysts do not believe the Taliban are likely to moderate their position in the near future and point to the continuing authority of Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive and authoritarian cleric leader. Ramin Mansoori, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Endowment who studies Afghan politics, said the Taliban’s priority was its domestic agenda. [](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/15/concern-grow-global-ties-taliban-afghanistan-human-rights#img-5) Afghanistan’s foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi was criticised for not allowing female journalists into his press conference while visiting India. Photograph: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images “They are not going to make any significant concessions. Most of them don’t have an international perspective,” Mansoori said.