Amnesty International stressed that such policies represent a clear and blatant violation of human rights, posing a serious threat to women’s access to essential medical services, and forming part of a broader, deliberate pattern of gender-based repressio

Amnesty International has issued a strong warning following the enforcement of the mandatory burqa (chadari) for women in Herat, calling it part of the Taliban`s systematic campaign to erase women and girls from public spaces, healthcare, and social life, creating conditions that are "intolerable" for them.

According to AnsarPress, the statement was released after a joint directive issued by the Taliban`s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and the governor of Herat, which bans women from entering hospitals and service institutions without wearing a burqa. The move has sparked widespread condemnation from civil society, human rights activists, and international organizations.

Amnesty International stressed that such policies represent a clear and blatant violation of human rights, posing a serious threat to women`s access to essential medical services, and forming part of a broader, deliberate pattern of gender-based repression in Afghanistan.

Afghan women`s rights activists also denounced the decision as coercive and non-consensual, emphasizing that the burqa has never been a genuine cultural or religious choice for Afghan women, but rather a tool imposed to erase their visibility and participation in public life.

The organization underscored that this policy directly contradicts Afghanistan`s international obligations, including treaties ratified before the fall of the Republic, demonstrating that the Taliban are not only unwilling to reintegrate into the global community, but are intentionally deepening structural isolation and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Amnesty concluded that this move cannot be understood merely as a matter of "dress code"; it represents a calculated effort to annihilate women`s social identity and to entrench ideological control over everyday life - a symbolic and practical manifestation of the Taliban`s gender apartheid regime.