MASS ARRESTS OF PEOPLE ACCUSED OF VIOLATING ISLAMIC DRESS CODE

KABUL, JUNE 7 /SRNA–RIA Novosti/ – Dozens of women have been detained in the city of Herat during mass raids targeting individuals accused of violating Islamic dress code, Afghan media reported.

According to the outlet Afghanistan International, more than twenty women were detained by officials of the Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, known as muhtasibs.

The raids followed an earlier warning from the ministry that women appearing in public without what authorities consider a proper hijab, including those who reveal their faces or wear makeup, would face prosecution, arrest, and imprisonment.

According to reports, the muhtasibs, armed with batons, forcibly detained women whom they accused of failing to comply with hijab regulations.