Taliban disrupt women’s rights protest in Kabul

Taliban disrupt women’s rights protest in Kabul

Dozens of women gathered together in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul demanding rights following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. This was one of the latest of several protests by women in Kabul and Herat.

The movement was soon disrupted after the Taliban targeted them with tear gas and pepper spray as they tried to walk from a bridge to the presidential palace.

The women were calling for the right to work and to be included in the government, while Taliban officials say they will announce the make-up of their administration in the coming days.

However, women can be involved in government, but not hold ministerial positions, the Taliban stated.

Many women fear a return to the way they were treated when the Taliban were previously in power, between 1996 and 2001. They were forced into covering their faces outside and were punished harshly for minor transgressions.

“Twenty-five years ago, when the Taliban came, they prevented me from going to school,” journalist Azita Nazimi told Tolo.

“After five years of their rule, I studied for 25 years and worked hard. For the sake of our better future, we will not allow this to happen.”

Another demonstrator, Soraya, told Reuters: “They also hit women on the head with a gun magazine, and the women became bloody.”