Afghan Taliban tighten restrictions on women, smartphones amidst rising dissent

Draconian dress-code enforcements and a smartphone ban trigger public protests and expose internal regime anxieties as the five-year power milestone approaches.

The Afghan Taliban are intensifying social restrictions by strictly enforcing female dress codes, suppressing public demonstrations, and ordering their own officials to halt the use of smartphones. Analysts and activists suggest these omnipresent control tactics signal underlying anxieties within the regime.

In early June, Taliban authorities detained at least 30 women in the western city of Herat for alleged dress-code violations, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The detentions sparked rare protests in the Injil district of Herat, a predominantly Shiite area that already encounters insecurity and discrimination under the Sunni regime. Taliban forces responded to the demonstrations with live gunfire, resulting in at least two deaths,including a child, and injuring more than 20 others. While the Taliban have denied the arrests, women’s rights groups have condemned the actions as an amplification of “gender apartheid” and an attempt to criminalise basic personal choices to suppress political dissent.

The timing of this crackdown is politically charged. In August, the Taliban will mark five years since their return to power, matching the duration of their first rule from 1996 to 2001 before it collapsed. Although the regime currently retains absolute control over state institutions, the security apparatus, independent media, and public spaces, the five-year milestone acts as a reminder that their power has proved vulnerable in the past.

Religious scholars and political observers argue that the latest draconian measures point to a crisis of legitimacy. Restrictions on public movement and the recent order banning smartphones for government employees, which led to filmed instances of Taliban members destroying their devices, reflect a deep-seated fear of public uprisings. In an environment where independent journalism has been systematically dismantled, smartphones remain a primary tool for citizens to document administrative abuses and broadcast protests to the outside world.

Former diplomats and rights activists note that the Taliban’s internal anxiety is further exacerbated by their failure to govern effectively, provide essential public services, or generate employment. Consequently, vulnerable groups like women have become primary targets for intimidation to maintain total civilian compliance. While the international community remains distracted by competing global crises, allowing the Taliban to secure tactical engagement from countries like Russia, the persistent localised resistance demonstrates that total physical control has not translated into political legitimacy.