Moment Afghan woman fights back as female Taliban morality police try to force her into a van during brutal new crackdown in Kabul

Rare footage has emerged of a woman in Afghanistan fighting back against female members of the Taliban's morality police as they tried to force her into a van.The latest crackdown by the infamous morality enforcers took place on Saturday in the Afghan capital of Kabul. A group of at least 20 women and girls were forcibly detained for dress-code violations.Video shows two women gripping the victim by each arm as they tried to coerce her into the white hatchback van, which was parked on a busy street. After defying their orders, one of the officers pulled the woman towards the vehicle by her arm while the other grabbed the back of the woman's neck and pushed her. The three women continued to tussle as the enforcers kept a grip on the victim, who was wearing a covering over her head. The woman tried to plead with those around her as male onlookers fail to intervene, rather choosing to watch on.US-based Afghan broadcaster Amu TV reported several women and girls were beaten in the same incident last weekend. One witness said a pregnant woman was among them, whose husband pleaded with the authorities to let her go.'They detained 20 girls and took them away,' one witness told the broadcaster. 'Among them was a pregnant woman. Her husband was crying and saying, "My wife is unwell. Do not hurt her, do not harass her".'She was two or three months pregnant. They hit her and dragged her away.' Two female members of the Taliban's morality police tried to forcibly detain a woman on Saturday The two women grip the victim by each arm as they try to coerce her into the white hatchback van, which is parked on the busy street in Kabul After defying their orders, one of the officers pulls the woman towards the vehicle by her arm while the other grabs the back of the woman's neck and pushes herIt is understood the women and girls were released after their families and members of their local community provided guarantees for them. Since seizing power in Kabul in August 2021, the Taliban imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls in the war-shattered country, with limits on access to education, employment and sport. The incident comes as residents in Kabul have reported an increase in street patrols by the Taliban morality police.Except Russia, no country has formally recognised the Taliban since the group returned to power five years ago. It has not held elections nor established public legitimacy for its government. The de facto regime has issued more than 100 decrees imposed on the control of women and girls, which human rights groups have described as a systematic erasure of women from public life. The incident adds to a string of oppressive attacks against Afghan women this year by the Taliban's morality police, as women are increasingly detained over accusations they have violated the enforced dress code. It is a move defended by the authoritarian regime itself, who justified its oppressive rulings by saying 'every government in the world imposes restrictions on its citizens'. Saif-ul-Islam Khyber, a spokesman for the Taliban's ministry for the propagation of virtues and prevention of vice, said in June no country accepts 'absolute freedom'. Last month, at least nine women were rounded up across two days as part of the regime's enforcement of strict Sharia law dress codes. Taliban patrols outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021 Supporters of Taliban government rally as part of celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, in AugustThe women were detained in the city of Herat, despite them all wearing hijabs, according to Amu TV. The arrests come as the group has been ramping up its psychological abuse of women in Afghanistan.According to a Herat resident, women are becoming increasingly afraid to leave their homes. 'They harass women everywhere under the pretext of enforcing morality,' the resident said.'Women are being detained, intimidated and subjected to psychological abuse, yet no one is listening.'Another resident said four women were detained outside the Marble Market on Monday despite complying with the Taliban's dress requirements. 'They were wearing hijab,' the resident said. 'They were taken simply because they were wearing long coats.'The attack in Herat came just weeks after a protest against the Taliban's morality police left one person dead and several more wounded. Officials opened fire on demonstrators during a protest back in June after dozens took to the streets to denounce the detention of women and girls arrested for violating the country's dress code. Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, north-west of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots.Protesters can be heard screaming as others were beaten to the ground by officials wielding long sticks. Armed men can be seen breaking up the demonstration, including fully veiled women among the protesters.Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesman for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering had 'created tensions' and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation.The demonstration followed days of growing outrage over the detention of women and girls in Herat, for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic dress requirements.Dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed, had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Amu TV claimed.