Afghan Women Protest Spread Across 4 Provinces Amid Taliban Terror Rule

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Despite the Taliban's terror regime, including the violation of women's rights in Afghanistan, protests by Afghan women are spreading, with demonstrations continuing in four provinces.

According to Afghan Haama News Agency and social media (SNS) on the 7th, a women's street protest demanding the protection of women's rights was held the previous day in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh Province. They demanded guarantees for women's education and work opportunities, saying, "We cannot go back to the past," and also called for "including women from all sectors in the formation of the new government."

Since the Taliban's return to power on the 15th of last month, most Afghan women have stayed indoors and refrained from going out, but they have gradually raised their voices since the beginning of this month. On the 2nd of this month, about 50 women held a street protest in Herat in western Afghanistan, and on the 3rd and 4th, women marched with banners and placards in the capital Kabul and Nimroz in southwestern Afghanistan.

Including Mazar-i-Sharif, women's street protests have spread to a total of four provinces. The female protesters shouted slogans such as "We cannot go back to the 1990s," "Include women in the cabinet," and "A new government without women will be meaningless." Even in front of Taliban soldiers armed with guns, the women shouted, "We are together. Let's not be afraid," maintaining their ranks. The protest held in Mazar-i-Sharif ended peacefully, but earlier protests by women in Kabul were forcibly dispersed by the Taliban using tear gas and warning shots. Photos of a woman bleeding from a head injury during the dispersal process also spread on SNS.

Meanwhile, on the previous day in Mazar-i-Sharif, alongside the protest demanding the protection of women's rights, a small group of women held a demonstration supporting the Taliban's conservative women's policies, and photos comparing the two protests were posted on SNS.

Meanwhile, although the Taliban issued conciliatory messages promising to "respect women's rights" after regaining power for the first time in 20 years on the 15th of last month, they have faced criticism for revealing their true colors as incidents of women's rights violations and violence have occurred in various places. In particular, on the 4th of this month, the Taliban's education authorities ordered women attending private universities in Afghanistan to wear an abaya covering the entire body from the neck and a niqab covering the entire face except for the eyes, based on newly established regulations, sparking ongoing protests by women in various places.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.