By Rukhshana Media
A women’s protest planned to take place in front of the Taliban’s ministry of Economics on Thursday was canceled after the Taliban refused to approve the protest, said some of the protesters who took their protest indoors.
In the several videos of the indoors gathering, shared with Rukhshana Media, the protesters take turns explaining how their planned protest was canceled and why they are risking so much.
“Several groups of women came together and we planned to have a big rally today, but unfortunately [the Taliban] didn’t allow us,” one protester said in the video. “We sent one of our members to ask for the Taliban’s approval for our protest to avoid the beatening and lashing we have experienced before,” she explained.
When the extremist group returned to power in mid August, they effectively banned millions of teenage girls and women from education and work. Soon women took to the streets and demanded their rights should be protected. The Taliban responded with violence, beating and threatening protesters, and even the journalists who covered the protests.
In early September the Taliban’s ministry of interior issued its first decree, banning protests and slogans that don’t have the group’s approval.
“Our slogans weren’t against the Taliban, but they didn’t allow us,” said a protester who sat in the first row, wearing a black mask that covered her face in the video shared with Rukhshana Media by the organizers of the protest. “We can’t even go out on the street and protest,” she continued, “but this is the start. We might change our approach, we might change the venue, but we will never submit. We will defend our rights.”
“They called our group leaders and introduced themselves as the Taliban’s intelligence services. They said if you want to organize a protest, we will not take responsibility for your security,” another protester said from the second row, wearing a grey scarf. “We didn’t ask for security,” she added, “We only wanted to chant: work, food and education. We demand political participation and an inclusive government that includes everyone, including women.”
She warned that if anything happened to any of the protesters, the Taliban would be responsible for it. “If one of us is killed, no one should say she was killed in a car accident, she was killed by her husband…[everyone] should know that the Islamic Emirate would be responsible for the killing of [any] women who raised their voice,” she said, using the name the group uses for itself. .
“You have taken away our rights to sport, our rights to work, to education, and you say don’t raise your voice. Aren’t we human? Aren’t we from this country? Why aren’t we allowed to raise our voice?” a protester addressed the Taliban directly in the video. “If you want to silence our voice, know that we will not be suppressed. We are willing to die, but we will not pass this to our next generation,” she vowed.
