Women Protest in Western Kabul; Call for Overthrow of Taliban Govt & Equal Rights

A group of women took to the streets in western Kabul on Wednesday to protest against the Taliban's policies toward women.

Members of the "Afghanistan Movement to Change Women's History" marched, chanting slogans against the Taliban, labelling the group as "terrorists," and called for the overthrow of the Taliban government.

The women, emphasising on equal rights for both men and women, chanted slogans such as "Taliban commits crimes, and the world supports them”. They also reiterated the popular slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom”.

According to a video obtained by Afghanistan International, these women called on the international community to condemn the Taliban.

The Movement issued a statement, saying that Afghan women have been enduring and fighting in the harshest conditions for three years. The statement highlighted that their struggles have been met with "imprisonment, flogging, execution, rape, and stoning”.

This movement has called on the international community and human rights organisations to pressure the Taliban to prevent mass executions of Afghan citizens.

The movement noted that, despite most Taliban leaders being on international blacklists, they travel freely to various countries. The group added that the Taliban member’s unrestricted travel has emboldened them, and they are now attempting to seize Afghan diplomatic missions abroad.

These women declared that the Taliban lacks both domestic and international legitimacy, and handing over Afghanistan’s diplomatic missions to the group is a "betrayal of individual and social freedoms in Afghanistan”.

The protesting women urged the world to support human rights, freedom of speech, and individual and social liberties for Afghan women in the face of "the Taliban's dictatorship and extremism”. They stressed that this demand can only be fulfilled through the establishment of a democratic government.

The protest concluded in Dasht-e-Barchi, a neighbourhood in western Kabul.

Following the severe repression of women protesters by the Taliban, members of this women movement have continued to protest against the group. The Taliban has used violence, arrests, and threats to suppress all civil activities, including women's protests.