Herat University Students Arrested by Taliban Amr-e-Maruf Officers for Not Wearing a Hat or Beard
Herat, 15 April 2026 (15 April 2026) — Local sources report that this morning, officers from the Taliban’s Amr-e-Maruf and Nahi ul-Munkar Department visited Herat University and arrested a group of students for “not wearing hats and having short beards.”
According to information received, about 20 students were arrested in this operation. Amr-e-Maruf forces first transferred the students to the eighth security district of Herat city and then took them to the Amr-e-Maruf headquarters. Reports indicate that the students are still in detention, and some sources report that they are being held in containers.
Eyewitnesses have reported violent, insulting, and humiliating treatment by Amr-e-Maruf officers with the students. Some sources say that if the students are not released quickly, their cases could be referred to special Taliban courts (such as what they have described as the “Inquisition Court”) and harsher punishments imposed under the Taliban regime’s current laws.
The incident is part of a broader implementation of new dress codes for students at Afghan universities that the Taliban have recently emphasized, requiring them to wear hats and grow beards.
In response to this and similar incidents, Herat residents have described the daily life in Afghanistan for different segments of society—including men and women, different ethnicities and religions, artists, businesses, and local languages—as a “hell of a nightmare,” complaining of severe economic, social, and cultural pressures.
As of the time of writing, Taliban officials have not commented on the arrests.