Date: 11/03/1401 In Herat province, the Taliban have prohibited the transportation of women in urban passenger vehicles and bicycle taxis unless they are accompanied by a male guardian (mahram). Local sources reported on Thursday, 11 Jawza, that drivers have been warned of serious consequences if they transport women traveling alone. The same restriction was previously implemented in Kandahar, indicating a growing national enforcement trend.

The Taliban’s ban on transporting women without a male guardian in urban settings—now extended to Herat—marks an escalation of their mobility restrictions, affecting even short-distance, everyday travel. This policy is not only discriminatory but disabling, effectively barring women from accessing work, school, healthcare, or markets unless accompanied by a male relative. By threatening vehicle and bicycle taxi drivers with punishment, the Taliban are extending their gender policing into the informal transportation sector, pressuring civilians to enforce state repression. This measure further isolates women from economic, social, and civic participation—particularly affecting widows, unmarried women, or those without immediate male relatives—and reinforces a climate of institutionalized gender-based exclusion.