Date: 10/08/1401 Taliban Unveils Women's Anti-Riot Police Unit
This anti-riot unit has been established with the aim of suppressing women's protests in Afghanistan. On Monday, November 1, 2022, the Taliban Ministry of Interior unveiled a female anti-riot police unit in Kabul.
Khalid Zadran, a spokesperson for the Taliban police, announced in a video on Twitter that hundreds of women are now serving in the police force and receiving new training. The unit is reportedly created to counter street protests by women. The video, shared on Taliban Twitter accounts, shows a group of women in long black clothing, hijabs, and face veils in the style preferred by the Taliban, holding riot shields.
In the video, one of the women claims to have served in the police force of the previous government. She urges other women police officers to return to work and assures them that there are no threats to them. This comes despite numerous reports of arrests, torture, killings, and disappearances of former police officers, particularly women, since the Taliban returned to power.
One of the main criticisms of the Taliban has been their lack of a female police force, especially considering their extremist interpretation of Islam. Without female police officers, they have been accused of arresting and physically suppressing women. Now, with the establishment of the women's anti-riot unit, the Taliban appears to have expanded their ability to suppress women's protests and may use this unit to justify the arrest and interrogation of women.

The Taliban’s formation of a women’s anti-riot police unit is not a step toward inclusion but a strategic move to legitimize and intensify the suppression of women’s protests. This unit enables the regime to mask repression behind female participation, using women to police and silence other women. In the context of ongoing violence and threats against former female officers, the public recruitment of women into a force aimed at protest control further illustrates the Taliban’s use of coercion and propaganda. Rather than promoting gender representation, this unit reinforces state violence under a gendered guise.