Date: 13/04/1401 In Kabul, the Taliban have intensified restrictions on women’s mobility by monitoring city taxi movements and warning drivers against transporting women who are not accompanied by a male guardian (mahram).

According to a report by 8AM Daily on Monday, 13 Saratan, a local taxi driver said he was confronted by Taliban agents after dropping off a woman with two children. The agents angrily warned him to “obey the law”. When he asked for clarification, they violently insisted that drivers are not permitted to transport women without a male guardian. This incident follows the Taliban’s earlier directive prohibiting women from traveling more than 78 kilometers without a male companion. Taliban forces are now reportedly inspecting taxis within Kabul to enforce the same restrictions even on short-distance, local travel.

The Taliban’s enforcement of male guardian requirements for even intra-city travel further entrenches a regime of gender segregation and movement control, amounting to a systematic policy of gender apartheid. What was once restricted to long-distance travel is now being aggressively imposed at the local level, limiting women’s ability to move freely, access work, healthcare, or even basic services.

By threatening and intimidating taxi drivers, the Taliban are not only policing women but also weaponizing the public transport sector to enforce gender-based discrimination. This expands the regime’s control network and forces civilians to become instruments of surveillance and enforcement.