As Afghans prepare to live under the Taliban rule for a second year this August, dozens of Afghan women took to Kabul streets on Saturday, calling on the new government to restore women's status prior to August 2021, by allowing them to receive education and resume their professional careers.
Holding banners that read "Bread, work, freedom", Afghan women defied many of the rules set earlier by the Taliban across Afghanistan, including being out on the street without male guardians and without face cover.
Afghan women hold placards as they march and shout slogans "Bread, work, freedom" during a womens' rights protest in Kabul on August 13, 2022. Taliban fighters beat women protesters and fired into the air on Saturday as they violently dispersed a rare rally in the Afghan capital, days ahead of the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists' return to power. (Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP)
Demanding the rights to education and work, Afghan women protested as fighters from the Taliban stood near for several minutes before they started shooting gunfire in the air to disperse the gathering.
The women of Afghanistan continue to be the most courageous people on earth. One year later still risking their lives & marching against Taliban subjugation.
— Farangies Shah (@FarangiesShah) August 13, 2022
I know who the leader of my country will be — she is marching in Kabul today, for my freedom.
pic.twitter.com/9TVQM3pHiu
Videos have gone viral online showing different moments of the women's protest, including the moments Taliban fire terrorized the protestors and ended their gathering in the capital city of Kabul.
Using the hashtag #StandWithAfghanWomen, many Afghan users shared photos and videos from the women's protest against the Taliban rules, highlighting previous promises by the group to "show a more modern style of government" in their second round of controlling Afghanistan.
The oppressive and terrorist group ruling Afghanistan today prevented a number of #female protesters who demanded #women's rights and education in #Kabul.#Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/xZTussXPGV
— Ziar Khan Yaad (@ziaryaad) August 13, 2022
Last August, as US troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan following a 20-year-old military presence, the Taliban recaptured all of Afghanistan and its leaders attempted to "reassure" the world of a more flexible form of governance.
However, the Taliban had forced thousands of Afghan working women to stay in their homes, hiring men to take their jobs in the public sector.
Silencing the voices of protesting women with aerial fire by the Taliban in Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/xDBrXL0ivG
— Afghan Womens Justice Movement (@afghanwomen_j_m) August 13, 2022
Millions of Afghan girls have also been banned from education as girls' schools remain closed a year after the Taliban made it power again.
