Taliban fighters in Afghanistan have opened fire on a rare protest sparked by the arrest of women because of the way they dress

Taliban fighters opened fire on people gathered in a rare demonstration in Afghanistan’s western Herat province on Tuesday, killing at least one woman and a child, according to BBC News’ CBS affiliate.

Men and women gathered to protest the recent arrests of women and girls for allegedly violating the Taliban’s strict dress code, defying the country’s rulers. violently dispersed previous protests since to take back control of the country about five years ago.

A doctor at a local hospital, who spoke to CBS News but asked not to be named for fear of Taliban retaliation, said at least three people were admitted for treatment with gunshot wounds.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show Taliban fighters opening fire on protesters and beating them with sticks. Protesters can be seen fighting by throwing stones and chanting for jobs, education and freedom.

In one clip, Taliban security forces are seen firing directly at protesters.

Local media cited unnamed sources and residents as saying that a child was killed during the fighting. Another video shared by local outlets shows a little boy with a leg injury, apparently unresponsive, receiving help.

The BBC affiliate of Britain’s CBS News, citing unnamed medical sources in Herat, said two people were killed by soldiers – a woman and a child – and more than a dozen others were wounded.

“Every woman arrested in Herat today represents the suffering of millions of Afghan women under the shadow of gender discrimination,” one woman said in a video posted to CBS News.

The United Nations’ special spokesman for Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, said he was “shocked by the excessive use of force against seemingly peaceful protesters in Herat today.”

“It is time to de-escalate the tension, respect the freedom of speech of citizens – especially women and girls – and avoid further harm,” he said on social media. “Those who caused the violence must be held accountable.”

Sayed Masoud Hussaini, a police spokesman in Herat province, told CBS News security forces are fulfilling their legal obligations to ensure safety and maintain public safety. He denied that civilians were injured by police firing.

“Today, in the area of ​​Jebrail, many people have gathered and created tension under the pretext of protest issues related to the preservation of the Hijab and against the Islamic Hijab, which is a divine obligation,” Hussaini said.

Tuesday’s protest came in the wake of the detention of women and girls in Herat province in recent days by the Taliban’s morality police, for allegedly violating the group’s dress code, which requires women to cover their hair and face.

Georgette Gagnon, the acting head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, told the Security Council on Monday that the Taliban police recently detained about 30 women and girls in Herat.

The UN is “concerned by the arrest and detention of many women in Herat #Afghanistan for allegedly not following the dress code, which raises serious human rights concerns,” the council said in a social media post.

Shaikh Azizulrahman, head of Herat’s morality police, in an audio message shared Tuesday with reporters, denied that women were arrested for violating dress codes. He emphasized that all women in the province should respect the dress code of the Taliban.

Gagnon, addressing the Security Council, accused the Taliban of depriving women and girls of their basic rights, including education, workfree movement and participation in public life.

“The Taliban have made the words and faces of women a crime,” he said.