National Public Radio (NPR), 20 February 2026
In this article on the US public broadcaster about a new wave of Taleban Vice & Virtue crackdown against women in Herat not sufficiently veiled, in their opinion, AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted on the character of Taleban clampdowns reflected here:
“The enforcement of vice and virtue rules appears to move in waves — periods of intensified clamping down on rulebreakers in a given location followed by an easing of pressure,” said Kate Clark, co-director and senior analyst of Afghanistan Analysts Network, which authored a report focusing on the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in December.
“These shifts can occur after a change of governor or a public backlash, or for some other unfathomable reason: people are not always sure what sparked Amr bil-Maruf to crack down — or relent,” she said, referring to the ministry by its local name.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 21 Feb 2026
