Women and young girls in western Herat province have voiced growing distress over the severe psychological toll and systemic humiliation inflicted by enforcers from the de facto Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Amr bil Maruf and Nahi anil Munkar).
Testimonies gathered from local residents indicate that compliance with official dress codes and mandatory male chaperones (mahram) no longer guarantees protection against public harassment, verbal abuse, or arbitrary detention. Women recount being stopped, insulted, and summoned to administrative offices under vague pretexts, leaving survivors with persistent anxiety, trauma, and severe constraints on their movement.
In one personal account shared with local news outlets, a female sole provider in Herat detailed receiving an unexpected summons to the local virtue office while returning from work. Fearing immediate arrest and the loss of her family’s only source of income, she presented herself alongside a family member, only to face aggressive verbal hostility and explicit threats of imprisonment should she continue working or appearing in public spaces.
Human rights organizations and UN monitoring groups have repeatedly raised alarms over the compounding socio-economic impact of these enforcement practices. By targeting working women and sole breadwinners, virtue officials not only restrict fundamental personal freedoms but also push vulnerable households into acute financial hardship, forcing many women out of public life entirely.