Afghanistan: Taliban fire warning shots to break up women’s protest in Kabul

In the dissolution of a peaceful protest of dozens of women, who marched today in its streets Kabul chanting “Bread, work and freedom”, Taliban forces advanced, firing into the air.

Photos and videos on social media depict powers of Taliban firing warning shots and violently attacking the women to break up their gathering in the heart of the city, in front of the Ministry of Education, just 5 minutes after they started their march.

Demonstrators held a banner that read: “August 15 is a black day,” a reference to the date Kabul was captured in 2021 by the Taliban.

“Justice, justice. We are tired of being ignored,” they shouted before their rally was violently dispersed.

A video shows a small group of women trapped by the Taliban inside a closed area.

“We are inside a pharmacy, they have imprisoned us here,” says an activist in one of the videos.

The protesters also shouted slogans against discrimination against women.

Taliban in military uniforms and armed with rifles had blocked a crossroads in front of the protestors and started shooting for several seconds in the air. An AFP journalist found that one of them pretended to target the protesters and that the Taliban hit some women with the butts of their rifles.

As one year under the Taliban regime approaches, women have once again taken to the streets to denounce the Taliban’s restrictions on their rights to education, work and freedom of movement.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have restricted women’s fundamental rights and repressed those who have protested against it. No country has so far recognized the Taliban’s de facto government.