Afghan Women Take to Streets, Protest for Right to Work & Study

Women in Kabul took to streets and staged protests on Friday, 3 September, demanding equal rights and inclusion in work and education.

Videos shared on Twitter showed armed Taliban fighters beating the women and girls who were part of the demonstration. They snatched their posters too.

Bearing placards and raising slogans, Afghan women demanded that they be allowed to pursue education and hold jobs.

The Taliban has been discussing the formation of a new "inclusive" government but many are sceptical that women will be given any positions of power in the new administration.

Just a day before, several Afghan women demonstrated in the western city of Herat to demand the rights to employment and education.

Media reports stated that a group of women had met top Taliban officials to ask for a clear explanation of their policies on the rights of women, but did not receive a convincing answer.

During Taliban’s previous rule between 1996-2001, there was a ban on women's education and employment.

TOLO journalist Zahra Rahimi tweeted, “Dozens of women in western Herat province protested in the city and chatting “don’t afraid, don’t afraid, we are together (sic)”."

Samira Hamidi, working with Amnesty International, wrote on Twitter, “Women has disappeared from political, social & economic spaces. Women-led NGOs are searched, questioned and have been asked to remain shut. Prominent women activists are threatened through calls, messages and social media.”

She stated that gender segregated studies have been imposed in schools and universities and prominent women activists fear for their safety.