With shots in the air and rifle butts, the Taliban attack a women’s march in Kabul

severe restrictions

Demonstrations by women to claim more rights are increasingly rare in the capital, especially after the arrest at the beginning of the year of the organizers of these demonstrations, some of which have been held for several weeks.

After returning to power in mid-August 2021, fundamentalist Islamists have progressively eroded the freedoms won by women in the last 20 years, following the fall of their previous regime (1996-2001).

The Taliban have imposed a number of restrictions on civil society, many of them targeted subjecting women to their fundamentalist conception of Islam.

In the latest restriction, in early May, the government issued a decree, approved by the supreme leader of the Taliban and Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada, which made it mandatory for women to fully cover their bodies and faces in public.

The Taliban said so they preferred the burqa, the full veil, usually blue and which has a grid to hide the eyes, which was already mandatory in his first government.

However, they indicated that they would tolerate other types of veils that only show the eyes.

They also dictated that unless they have a compelling reason to go out, it is “better for women to stay at home”.

The United Nations and human rights groups have repeatedly criticized the Taliban government for imposing restrictions on women.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on the Taliban to “reverse their horrible and misogynist” decision to ban women from education.

“This would send a message that the Taliban are willing to reconsider their most heinous actions,” said Fereshta Abbasi, an NGO researcher on Afghanistan.

Over the past two decades, Afghan women have gained freedom, either by returning to school or applying for jobs in all sectors.

Currently, they have been expelled from most public works or received pay cuts and stay-at-home orders.

Source: AFP

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