Small groups of Afghan women organized demonstrations on Friday to commemorate the International Women's Day in private spaces, for fear of repression.
The Taliban, since returning to power in August 2021, have imposed an ultra-strict interpretation of Islam and women are the most affected by these restrictions, described by the UN as “gender apartheid.”
Women have been expelled from public life, they cannot travel without being accompanied by a man from their family or access certain jobs.
They also do not have access to secondary or university education, nor to parks, fairs or gyms. A handful of women in several provinces gathered to demand an end to these restrictions, according to activists from the group Purple Saturdays, which protests against the restrictions imposed by the Taliban government on women.
BBC World: Woman with painted eyes and a burqa.
Photo:
In the northern province of Tajar, images released by activists showed seven women holding papers that covered their faces and read “Rights, Justice, Freedom.”
In Balkh province, several women also held signs reading “Save the women of Afghanistan.”
At the moment, no women's protests have been reported in public spaces. The UN mission in Afghanistan on Friday urged the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women and girls, saying failure to do so risked “pushing the country further into deeper poverty and isolation.”
“The space for Afghan women and girls continues to shrink at an alarming rate, and with it Afghanistan's future prospects of escaping a vicious cycle of war, poverty and isolation,” said Alison Davidian, UN Women Special Representative in Afghanistan. it's a statement.
Taliban authorities dismiss international criticism. The spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, described as “propaganda” a recent report by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, in which he denounces restrictions on women and girls.
Women sporadically protest against rules imposed by Taliban authorities, but often in small groups and in closed spaces for fear of reprisals.
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