By: Rukhshana Media
University students were protesting Thursday morning against the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education across the country when they were violently dispersed by the Taliban forces.
The students were demonstrating in a Kabul street with slogans such as, “education, work, freedom”, “either all of us or no one”, “security and education”, and “freedom and equality” with more messages in support of girls’ education.
Sources say that the Taliban used female police to disperse the protesters.
According to the sources, five protesters, including three reporters were detained.
The protesters were released after a few hours, according to the source, however, it’s unclear what happened to the reporters.
“I was sure that the Taliban forces would deal violently with us,” a protester tells Rukhshana Media while maintaining her identity. “In the morning, when I left the house, I kissed the holy Qur’an and looked at my children and said to myself, “‘God, will I return home again or not?’”
She was severely beaten. “I could not believe that I would survive,” she adds.
She says that the female Taliban police officers were punching her with big rings on their fingers, to the extent that her scarf fell off her head and the buttons of her shirt were torn off.
“During the last year or so that we lived under the Taliban’s oppression, our bodies were ripped apart,” another protester says while crying. “But today, our souls and spirits are torn apart.”
Taliban intelligence surrounded the girls and were told, “If we see you again, we will kill all of you.”
Meanwhile, our reporter at the scene says, the Taliban were prepared since yesterday to disperse the protesters.
According to our reporter, the protest did not last more than 10 minutes.
She says the Taliban policewomen called the protesters “prostitutes” while beating them.
Following the closure of universities two days ago, the Taliban have closed all tuition and language centers, including girls’ primary schools across the country.
