The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has voiced grave concern over reported arrests and detentions of women in Herat for allegedly violating dress regulations. These actions, which began after Friday prayers where imams announced women must wear hijabs when leaving home, have raised serious human rights issues, according to UNAMA. A human rights monitor corroborated these reports, verifying at least 16 arrests, including a pregnant woman, since Friday. Afghanistan's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has dismissed these reports as rumors, asserting that the hijab is a divinely ordained law that must be implemented, despite the U.N. reminding authorities of women's rights to freedom of movement and equality before the law. This follows similar concerns raised by UNAMA in Kabul last year, amidst broader draconian restrictions imposed on women since the Taliban's 2021 takeover.