A harrowing video has emerged from Afghanistan showing a vehicle ramming into a group of women as they walked down the street.
Afghan outlet Aamaj News reported that the car, driven by an individual with alleged Taliban ties, struck four women, leaving one in critical condition.
The outlet stated, citing family sources, that the women were returning from an educational seminar in Kabul when the incident occurred.
Disturbing footage shows an SUV hitting the group of women while they walked along a road.
While two of the women manage to leap aside safely, the remaining two were hit by the car, which immediately fled the scene. Nearby pedestrians quickly rushed over to help the victims.
The video was shared on X by respected Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, who wrote alongside it:
‘I received this video from a woman of Afghanistan with a [simple] message: “Please use your platform and tell the world that they are killing us here, we are tired of Taliban. Please don’t let the world forget Afghan women. We are fed up with Taliban. Enough is enough”.’
Khalid Zadran, the spokesman for the Kabul Police Command wrote on X that the incident occurred in the sixth district of Kabul.
The disturbing video captures an SUV car hitting the group of women while they walk along a road
While two of the women manage to leap aside safely, the remaining two are hit by the car, which immediately flees the scene
He added that the perpetrator has been identified ‘and efforts to apprehend them are ongoing.’ No mention was made of the alleged Taliban connection.
The footage surfaced amid an intensifying crackdown by the Taliban, whose escalating gender apartheid continues to severely restrict women’s rights.
Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has steadily expanded restrictions on women and girls – including bans on secondary and university education, limits on employment and increasingly strict regulations governing their appearance and movement in public.
Recently, the group arrested dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed, for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.
Some residents said officials targeted women who were already observing the required dress code, which includes fully covering the face and body.
The arrests took place in several parts of Herat, including the Southern Road area, Almas Market and the Qasr locality, according to local reports.
Among those detained was allegedly a nurse employed at Herat Regional Hospital.
The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, strongly condemned the wave of arrests, calling them ‘illegal and unacceptable’.
‘I am deeply alarmed that for a third consecutive day, scores of women in Herat continue to be arbitrarily arrested and detained for violating the Taliban’s dress code,’ he wrote on X.
‘The arrests must stop, and the women must be released immediately.’
People took to the streets in protest on Tuesday following the arrests, in what appeared to be one of the largest public demonstrations in recent months directly challenging the Taliban’s gender apartheid.
Flyers circulated across the area on Monday, calling on residents to gather at 8am local time Tuesday in District 13 of the Jibrail township, to demonstrate against the arrests.
Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, northwest of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots
Sources said Taliban continued firing in an effort to disperse the protesting crowd
But chaos ensued after the Taliban opened fire on the protestors, leaving one person dead and others wounded.
Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, northwest of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots.
Protesters can be heard screaming as others were beaten to the ground by officials wielding long sticks.
Armed men can be seen breaking up the demonstration, including fully veiled women among the protesters.
Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesperson for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering had ‘created tensions’ and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation.
