The Taliban militants have reportedly detained four women who were participating in a street protest against the ban on girls’ education. The women were apprehended as the Taliban continues its crackdown on dissenting voices.
According to reliable sources who spoke to Nimrokh, four women – Yaqoot Mandgar, Malalai Hashemi, Ruqia Saei, and Fatema Mohammadi – were arrested, after disrupting their demonstration, by the Taliban militants on Sunday, March 26, 2023. As of now, there is no information on the fate of the arrested women.
Dozens of Afghan women took to the streets on Sunday to protest against the ongoing ban on girls’ education. The demonstrators marched through the city chanting slogans such as “Education is our right,” “All or None,” and “Right, Justice, Freedom.”
Nimrokh has received reports that Taliban militants violently dispersed women’s demonstration at the Madrasa station in western Kabul. Despite this, a group of women continued their protest and marched toward the Pul-e-Sokhta area. The Taliban attempted to arrest these women, indicating a concerning level of hostility towards peaceful demonstrations and the exercise of free speech in the country.
Nimrokh has obtained audio messages from protesting women in which they describe the events that took place during their demonstration. According to the messages, Taliban fighters chased the women and hurled insults at them.
A video from the Kabul women’s demonstration circulating on social media features a female protester speaking out against the Taliban’s policies. In the video, the protester highlights the fact that Afghan women have been denied their right to education and work for more than a year and a half. She emphasizes that the women have taken to the streets in Kabul to protest the Taliban’s policies, which have limited their freedoms and opportunities.
The female protester in the video also spoke about the mental state of girls under Taliban rule, describing how they are forced to live “like prisoners” in their own homes.
During the demonstration, Afghan women protesters expressed their frustration with the United Nations’ policy towards the Taliban terrorist group. They criticized the UN’s perceived silence on the Taliban’s oppressive policies and chanted the slogan “UN! Break Your Silence!” to emphasize the need for action.
In a video from the demonstration that Nimrokh has obtained, a woman protester can be heard making a plea to the international community to take tangible action in support of Afghan women. She expressed a desire for more than just words and asked for concrete support from the international community.
Afghan women activists held their first street protest of the new Persian year in Kabul.
Previous women’s protests in Afghanistan have also been met with brutal suppression by the Taliban terrorist group. In numerous cases, women protestors have been arrested and subjected to torture and other forms of mistreatment.
