By Laila Yousufy and Zahra Nader
In two demonstrations held by women in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, two demonstrators were injured and 11 journalists were arrested, according to the organizers.
The demonstrations were organized in response to the Taliban’s recent crackdown on women which banned out-of-province travel for women without a male chaperone. The restrictive policy announced by the Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice on Sunday, December 26, also ordered the drivers not to give rides to women who do not observe hijab. The ministry has issued the most repressive and restrictive decrees on women since the extremist group took over the country in mid-August.
The women protesters began their march from two areas of Kabul; around 70 women began their demonstration from behind the Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and marched toward the ministry’s entrance which was heavily guarded by the Taliban’s foot soldiers who seemed to know about the protest.
Another group of women began their march from the Karte-e-Char area of Kabul, near the Police District 3.
The two protesters were injured near the ministry. “When the Taliban were shooting into the air to disperse the protesters, and everyone was running, two women were injured. They fell on the ground,” said Reshmin, an organizer who was at the scene. “One of them was seriously injured on her forehead,” she added.
In the videos of the protests shared with Rukhshana Media, the sound of gunshots can be heard as the protesters are rushing to leave the scene.
The wounded didn’t go to hospital, fearing the Taliban’s retribution for their participation in the protest. “We don’t feel safe to seek treatment in a hospital,” said one of the protesters whose face hit the ground as she was fleeing.
A sign language translator was also among the protesters, translating women’s messages one organizer explained. “In sign language, we said to the world, don’t recognize the Taliban,” said Reshmin, the organizer. “It has been four months since we raised our voice, but the world is not hearing us. Maybe the world is deaf, we have to deliver our message in sign language so they might understand what women of Afghanistan say,” she added.
At the scene of the protest in the Karte-e-Chare area of Kabul, where Rukhshana Media’s reporter was present, around 50 women started their march, chanting “work, food, freedom” and “justice.”
Five minutes after the protest began, the Taliban soldiers blocked the protesters and arrested the male journalists who were covering the protest.
When the Taliban stuffed the journalists into a taxi to send them to custody, protesters circled the taxi and tried to protect the journalists. They tried to negotiate with the Taliban, asking them to release the journalists. In exchange, the protesters offered to call off their demonstration for the day, a request rejected by the Taliban, according to Rukhshana Media’s reporter.
The Taliban have arrested 11 journalists from the scene of Tuesday’s attack.
On its Twitter account, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the arrest of 11 journalists and stated “the Taliban released the journalists after erasing some images from their cameras.”
The protest ended after the Taliban soldiers blocked the protesters for a second time, ripping some of the slogans.
“The Taliban has created Afghanistan a prison for women. They are imposing new restrictions on women every day. We can’t tolerate this,” said Marjan Amiry, one of the protesters. “The Taliban wants to exclude women from society and the world is watching,” she added.
It has been more than four months since women are organizing protests in different parts of Afghanistan, mainly in the capital, Kabul, asking the Taliban to respect their rights and the international community to not recognize the Taliban. The confrontation often ends with violence, with the Taliban beating and threatening protesters and arresting the journalists.
