Taliban disperse women protesters with gunfire in Kabul

Published September 30, 2021
A woman protester scuffles with a member of the Taliban during a demonstration outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP
A woman protester scuffles with a member of the Taliban during a demonstration outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP

The Taliban on Thursday violently cracked down on a small women's rights demonstration, firing shots into the air and pushing back protesters, AFP journalists witnessed.

A group of six women gathered outside a high school in eastern Kabul, demanding the right for girls to return to secondary school after the group excluded them from classes earlier this month.

The women unfurled a banner that read “Don't break our pens, don't burn our books, don't close our schools”, before Taliban guards snatched it from them.

A Taliban fighter (L) makes a hand gesture asking the photojournalists to stop covering a demonstration by women protesters in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP
A Taliban fighter (L) makes a hand gesture asking the photojournalists to stop covering a demonstration by women protesters in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP

They pushed back the women protesters as they tried to continue with the demonstration, while a foreign journalist was hit with a rifle and blocked from filming.

A Taliban fighter also released a brief burst of gunfire into the air with his automatic weapon, AFP journalists saw.

The demonstrators — from a group called the “Spontaneous Movement of Afghan Women Activists” — took refuge inside the school.

A member of the Taliban special forces pushes a journalist (L) covering a demonstration by women protesters outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP
A member of the Taliban special forces pushes a journalist (L) covering a demonstration by women protesters outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP

Taliban guard Mawlawi Nasratullah, who led the group and identified himself as the head of special forces in Kabul, said the demonstrators “did not coordinate with security authorities regarding their protest”.

“They have the right to protest in our country like every other country. But they must inform the security institutes before,” he said.

Isolated rallies with women at the forefront were staged in cities around the country after the Taliban seized power, including in the western city of Herat where two people were shot dead.

But protests have dwindled since the government issued an order that unsanctioned demonstrations and warned of “severe legal action” for violators.

A member of the Taliban speaks with women protesters as another tries to block the view of the camera with his hand during a demonstration held outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP
A member of the Taliban speaks with women protesters as another tries to block the view of the camera with his hand during a demonstration held outside a school in Kabul on Thursday. — AFP

It has been almost two weeks since girls were prevented from going to secondary school.

The Taliban follow a strict interpretation of sharia law that segregates men and women and have also slashed women's access to work.

They have said they need to establish the right conditions before girls can return to the classroom, but many Afghans are sceptical.

Opinion

Editorial

Brewing catastrophe
Updated 19 Jun, 2025

Brewing catastrophe

If Mr Trump makes the mistake of plunging into the fight on Israel’s behalf, the world will enter very dangerous territory.
Pension bill
19 Jun, 2025

Pension bill

IT is, indeed, a worrying conundrum. The federal government’s annual pension burden now exceeds its fiscal space...
Abandoned Karachi
19 Jun, 2025

Abandoned Karachi

THE explosive mix of decay, institutional apathy and corruption has, once again, placed Karachi among the bottom ...
Spread of hate
Updated 18 Jun, 2025

Spread of hate

HATE speech is not confined to words; in fact, there is a causal link between hateful rhetoric and real-world...
Big challenges
18 Jun, 2025

Big challenges

BALOCHISTAN’S Rs1.028tr budget, featuring a public development investment of Rs245bn and provincial surplus of...
Rampant disinformation
Updated 18 Jun, 2025

Rampant disinformation

WITH the arrival and proliferation of digital media, the creation of information is now a decentralised function,...