A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people killed by security forces.

Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained.

Witnesses told Rukshana Media that about 70 people joined the demonstration on Tuesday despite a heavy Taliban security presence, chanting slogans including “Education, work and freedom” and denouncing what they described as the arbitrary arrests of women.

“People were afraid, but they still came out,” said one resident.

In response, witnesses say, Taliban forces fired on the crowd and later deployed special units to disperse the gathering. Local sources said two people were killed, three wounded and at least 13 others detained after being beaten by officials.

In one video shared with the Guardian from the Jibrail district of Herat, armed Taliban fighters can be seen shooting at dozens of protesters. A woman’s voice can be heard screaming over the sound of gunfire, chanting: “Azadi”(freedom in Dari). In a second video, women can be heard saying: “They are shooting.”

“People are angry,” said Fereshta Abassi, of Human Rights Watch. “As far as we know, the Taliban have arrested some women in the past few days, and that’s apparently why their family members and others have been protesting [against] these rules. They see the Taliban as interfering in people’s privacy, which is unacceptable.”

Since the Taliban’s return to power, women and girls have been barred from nearly every aspect of public life: schools, universities, most jobs and even parks.

Protests are rare in Afghanistan, with the Taliban having banned all forms of unauthorised gatherings, responding to dissent with attacks, detention and torture of protesters.

Local activists claimed that the women arrested were, in fact, dressed modestly. In a deeply conservative society such as Afghanistan, inappropriate contact with a woman can be seen as a violation of family honour and dignity.

“They were arrested wearing full hijab and were manhandled despite being fully covered, which was considered a violation by their family members,” said Maryam*.

“We organised through WhatsApp groups to defend our sisters,” one organiser said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “People are angry about the arrests, unemployment and the continued closure of schools.”

Samira Hamidi, regional campaigner for Amnesty International, said: “Today’s protest, especially with the participation of men after a long time, reflects growing public anger at the Taliban’s five years of systematic targeting of women and girls, and the intensifying repression of personal freedoms across Afghanistan.

“The reported arbitrary detention of women for alleged hijab violations, followed by the violent suppression of those protesting these abuses, demonstrates the Taliban’s continuing reliance on fear and brutality to silence dissent.”

Taliban authorities were contacted for comment but a spokesman in Herat told the Taliban-controlled National Television that reports about women being detained over their hijab were “baseless” and no woman had ever been arrested for this reason.

* Name changed to protect their identity