Men, Women Protest in Kabul, Call For Action Against Taliban For Human Rights Abuses

Despite the widespread and violent crackdown on women's protest movements, the Afghan Women's Movement for Equality took to the streets in western Kabul on Wednesday to protest against Taliban's human rights violations and the killing of Hazaras.

The protesters called on the international community to take action against the Taliban's restrictions on women.

Members of the Afghan Women's Movement for Equality staged a protest march on the streets of Kabul on Wednesday, October 16 with participants including men and women.

The organisation called for an end to the "genocide of the Hazaras" and chanted slogans like "education, work, freedom”.

In a four-point statement, the movement stressed that the imposition of gender laws, human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, and torture in Afghanistan must be stopped immediately.

The movement also called for a greater presence of women in decision-making and peace negotiations.

On the other hand, the Afghan Women's Movement for Equality has called on the international community to provide humanitarian aid to the Afghan people without the Taliban's influence.

They called for attention to the situation of Afghan refugees, support for lasting peace, the establishment of inclusive governance and access to justice.

They called for an end to child marriage, forced marriage and domestic violence, saying the Taliban's restrictive policies "amount to crimes against humanity".

The Taliban has cracked down on civil protests and women's protest movements, detaining and torturing dozens of human rights activists.