KABUL — A crowd of women
marched through the Afghan capital on Tuesday, accusing
Taliban authorities of
covertly killing soldiers who served the former US-backed regime.
اضافة اعلان
Around 30 women gathered near a mosque in
the center of
Kabul and marched a few hundred meters chanting "justice,
justice" before they were stopped by Taliban forces, an AFP correspondent
saw.
The Taliban also tried to prevent
journalists from covering the march, organized against the "mysterious
murders of young people, particularly the country's former soldiers",
according to social media invitations.
Taliban fighters briefly detained a group of
reporters and confiscated equipment from some photographers, deleting images
from their cameras before returning them.
Since the hardliners returned to power in
August they have effectively banned unsanctioned protests and frequently
intervene to block demonstrations against their austere brand of Islam.
The protest comes weeks after separate
reports by the
UN,
Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch said there were
credible allegations of more than 100 extrajudicial killings by the Taliban
since their takeover.
"I want to tell the world, tell the
Taliban to stop killing. We want freedom, we want justice, we want human
rights," said protester Nayera Koahistani.
In a statement read aloud by protester Laila
Basam, the demonstrators called on the Taliban "to stop its criminal
machine".
The statement said former soldiers and
government employees of the old regime are "under direct threat",
violating a general amnesty announced by the Taliban in August.
The protesters also aired objections to the
ratcheting restrictions women are facing under Taliban rule.
The government issued new guidelines at the
weekend banning women from travelling long distances unless escorted by a close
male relative.
"Women's rights are human rights. We
must defend our rights," said Koahistani.
Video footage posted online on Tuesday
showed another women's protest held elsewhere in the capital that also called
for women to be allowed education and work opportunities.
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