The Taliban use whips and sticks on women protesting against the recently announced all-male interim government.
As the women in Afghanistan took to the streets to protest against the male-only Taliban government, their cries were met with violence and resistance from Taliban forces.
The Taliban have announced that restrictions will apply to future protests, stating that if prior authorisation from the justice ministry is not acquired, violators will be met with severe legal action.
Since 8 September, a new Taliban interim government has been assembled exclusively with no women on board, despite previous promises about an inclusive administration for all Afghans.
On the evening of September 7, the announcement of the all-male government was a key maneuver to solidify Taliban power.
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, “we will try to take people from other parts of the country.”
However, these political decisions have still caused people to protest. Dozens of women chanted in the streets of Kabul,
“We want equal rights, we want women in government.”
According to one female protestor, they were marching peacefully until 4-5 vehicles with approximately 10 Taliban soldiers in each vehicle started following them.
It has been reported that these women were stopped to be lashed with whips and beaten with batons that emit electric shocks.
“They tell me not to go for protests. They [the Taliban] will kill you. I fought with my brother to attend the march on Wednesday. It’s important that we raise our voice. I’m not scared. I will keep going again and again and again, until they kill us. It is better to die once than die gradually.”
Kabul: Today the women in Afghanistan are the symbol of bravery and courage. They stand barehand and asking for their rights and freedom to confront the militant Taliban Gun barrel. pic.twitter.com/GONp9lEz5Z
— Saleha Soadat (@SalehaSoadat) September 7, 2021
It’s hard to imagine anything braver than women in Afghanistan standing up to the tyranny of Taliban knowing their greatest ally has abandoned them to terrorists.Can’t understand how anyone who cares about the rights of women could be silent in this moment https://t.co/Ecn5a6Uwx4
— Lara Logan (@laralogan) September 5, 2021
The Taliban have recently banned women from playing sport, so hopes of ‘inclusivity’ are pretty much non-existent.
Top government positions were awarded to prominent members of the Haqqani network, which are known as the Taliban’s most violent component and responsible for devastating attacks.
U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on the Afghan crisis, in which he said any international legitimacy for the Taliban government would have to be “earned“.
Earlier in the week, there were hundreds of protests in Kabul and Herat, in which two people were shot dead.
‘For the time being’, demonstrations are not permitted at all.
