Days before the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists’ return to power, Taliban fighters forcefully dispersed a rare gathering in the Afghan capital on Saturday by beating protesting women and firing into the air.
The Taliban have reversed the slight advancements gained by women over the two decades of US operations in Afghanistan since taking control on August 15 of last year.
An AFP correspondent claimed that some 40 women marched in front of the education ministry building in Kabul while chanting, “Bread, work, and freedom,” before the fighters dispersed them by shooting their weapons into the air.
Taliban fighters followed and clubbed some female demonstrators with their rifle butts after they sought safety in adjacent stores.
The demonstrators called for the freedom to work and to participate in politics while waving a banner that said, “August 15 is a black day.”
“Justice, please. We’ve had enough of ignorance “Before dispersing, the protesters, many of whom lacked facial coverings, chanted.
The Taliban fighters also attacked some journalists who were covering the demonstration, the first women’s gathering in months.
The Taliban had promised a gentler version of the strict Islamist rule that had characterised their first term in power from 1996 to 2001 after gaining control.
But a lot of limitations have already been put in place.
Many government occupations are no longer open to women, and tens of thousands of girls have been excluded from secondary education.
Long distance solo travel for women is likewise prohibited, and they are only permitted to visit the public parks and gardens in the capital on days when men are not there.
Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s leader and the country’s top official, even issued an order in May requiring women to completely conceal their faces in public, preferably with an all-encompassing burqa.
At first, a few Afghan ladies protested modestly by pushing back against the limits.
However, the Taliban quickly apprehended the ringleaders and imprisoned them without charge while maintaining their innocence.
