Despite the risk, a group called the Women’s Political Participation Network took to the streets in front of the Afghan Ministry of Finance, chanting slogans and holding placards demanding participation in the Afghan government and calling for constitutional law.
The images showed a brief confrontation between a Taliban guard and some of the women and the voice of a man was heard saying, “Go away!” before resuming singing.
The rally was relatively small (the video of the scene broadcast live by the group showed only a few dozen protesters), but posed an unusual public challenge to Taliban rule.
The militant group is involved in internal discussions about forming a government, but they have already indicated that working women should stay at home, and in some cases militants have ordered women to leave their jobs.
Taliban leaders publicly insist that women will play a prominent role in society and have access to education. But the group’s public statements about adhering to its interpretation of Islamic values have sparked fears that there will be a return to the harsh policies of Taliban rule two decades ago, when women virtually disappeared from the Taliban. public life.
Some Afghan women are already staying home for fear of their safety, and some families are buying fully covered burqa for female relatives.
The demonstration in Kabul comes a day after women staged a similar demonstration in the city of Herat in western Afghanistan. The women in the protest had a large sign that said, “No government can be lasting without the support of women. Our demands: the right to education and the right to work in all areas.”
Lina Haidari, a protester at the Herat rally, said “the rights and achievements of women, which we have worked and fought for more than 20 years, should not be ignored” under Taliban rule, according to the video of the Getty Images event.
“I mean they forced me to stay home for the crime of being a student 20 years ago,” Haidari said in images collected by the agency, “And now 20 years later, for the crime of being a teacher and a woman . ”
The protests come amid intense fears about security under the Taliban government. A prominent Afghan activist said she did not take part in Herat’s demonstration due to a direct threat. She spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, fearing that even expressing interest in the demonstration could subject her to reprisals.
Uncertain future
Mujahid said the guidelines for staying home would be temporary and would allow the group to find ways to ensure women are not “treated disrespectfully” or “God forbid, get hurt.” He admitted that the measure was necessary because Taliban soldiers “continue to change and are not trained.”
Concerns about the fate of women prompted the World Bank to announce on the same day that it was stopping financial aid in the country with cash problems.
During the early months of the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, women were increasingly isolated from society and became targets of harassment and attacks, including the killing of three women journalists in March.
In early July, insurgents broke into the offices of Azizi Bank in the southern city of Kandahar and ordered the departure of nine women who worked there, Reuters reported. Bank tellers were told that male relatives would take their place.