Taliban soldiers fired blanks to disperse women’s protests in Afghanistan.
The news agency AFP said in a report that the attack took place in the capital Kabul on Saturday.
On Saturday, about 40 women chanted ‘bread, sustenance, freedom’ and ‘justice, justice’ in front of the Ministry of Education building in Kabul. We are fed up with ignorance.’ chants
Within moments of the protests, the Taliban forces dispersed them by firing blank rounds. Some women took shelter in nearby shops. But the Taliban soldiers beat them there with the butt of a gun.
On August 15 last year, the Taliban government took power after two decades of occupation by the United States. A banner read ‘August 15 as a black day’ and the women demanded equal rights to work and political participation.
Thousands of girls have stopped going to secondary school since the Taliban came to power. Besides, women are being barred from other jobs including government jobs. There is even a ban on women traveling alone while traveling to distant places. They are instructed to travel to gardens and parks populated only by men during the day.
(13 August)