In recent days, escalating tensions have gripped the western Afghan city of Herat after the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (PVPV) rolled out new restrictive rules targeting women, banning public exposure of feet and the use of makeup. The heavy-handed crackdown that followed has drawn sharp international condemnation from United Nations independent experts and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), amid reports of civilian casualties, mass detentions, and mounting harm to women’s access to basic services.