KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have arrested or detained dozens of women in recent months for alleged violations of dress codes and restrictions on appearing in public without a male guardian, the United Nations mission in the country said Thursday.
At least 52 women and one girl were arrested or detained in Kabul and the western city of Herat between July and September, the mission, known as UNAMA, said. Alleged violations included wearing colorful scarves or makeup, leaving hair visible or not wearing a chador, an all-enveloping cloak-like garment.
UNAMA said it was “gravely concerned” about the arrests, detentions and threats of arrest.
“The number of cases may be significantly higher due to underreporting linked to protection concerns and stigma,” it said, adding it was “also alarmed by incidents involving verbal abuse, beatings and threats against women, including female shopkeepers.”
The Taliban government did not immediately respond to the statement.
In June, Afghan authorities opened fire on a rare protest in Herat over arrests and detentions of women for alleged dress code violations. At least one person was killed and several were wounded at the time, according to witnesses and the U.N. mission.
Since seizing power in 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the Taliban government has imposed rules based on a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.
The rules include severe restrictions on women and girls, including a ban on education beyond primary school and limits on what women can wear and where they can go.
Women must wear full hijab in public, including a headscarf, a long robe covering the body and a face covering. The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice enforces the rules.
FILE - Women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not order a resumption of military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the United States.
Trump, while stumping for Republicans this week, has hinted that he was confident that an endgame to the war could come in the days before or after the election, while also hinting that he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran.
For weeks, Trump has been threatening that a post-midterm election escalation in the seven-month-old war remains a viable option, despite his initial promises to Americans of a military campaign that would last a matter of weeks.
But Trump in a social media post on Thursday said the U.S. “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.”
Trump added that his team has been “having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Negotiations had appeared at a standstill since Trump late last month publicly rejectedIran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the U.S. met certain conditions.
Iran, however, said last week they had received a U.S. counterproposal. And Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said he expected Tehran would offer a formal reply within days.
Trump's post comes as the military has dispatched more resources to the region. U.S. officials have said a third aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and thousands of troops aboard it and accompanying ships could arrive as early as the end of October.
Trump’s announcement was made the same day the USS Abraham Lincoln was due to arrive to its home port in San Diego after a record-long deployment in support of the Iran war. There have been reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products.
The USS George Washington, which is usually based in Asia, relieved the Lincoln in August. The other aircraft carrier in the Middle East, the USS George H.W. Bush, has been deployed for about six months, but it pulled into Phuket, Thailand, for a port visit several days ago.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
