Taliban forces detained dozens of young women in Kabul’s Shahr-e Naw neighbourhood on Wednesday, 16 July, according to sources who spoke to Afghanistan International.

A relative of one of the detainees said approximately 100 women were arrested from public areas, including streets, markets, and hospitals, and taken to detention facilities operated by the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Sources indicated that most of the women were fully observing the Islamic hijab at the time of their arrest.

Footage obtained by Afghanistan International shows several visibly distressed women surrounded by Taliban enforcers. In the video, one woman is heard pleading, “You’ve already deprived us of life, education, and going to school, what more do you want? Fear God!”

The Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue has not issued any statement explaining the reasons behind the mass detentions.

Reports suggest that some of the women were released after spending a night in custody, following the submission of written guarantees by their families.

A day earlier, Taliban enforcers reportedly raided multiple restaurants in the same neighbourhood and conducted inspections. According to witnesses, the group’s morality police regularly visit dining establishments to ensure men and women are not seated together and to enforce dress codes.

Eyewitnesses have also reported Taliban officials instructing women in various parts of Kabul to cover their faces in public.