Protesting Afghan women injured in stampede
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In this file photo taken on April 5, 2020, a man wearing a facemask as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 novel coronavirus walks past a wall painted with images of US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad (L) and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (R), in Kabul.
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Kabul was inundated with Afghan women protesting against discriminatory restrictions being imposed, such as recent travel restrictions for women. A stampede of women protesters was caused by shots fired by Taliban security personnel in the air.
There were hundreds of women protesting and expressing their anger against the Taliban's restrictions on women, which continue to become more severe, spreading fear of similar restrictions during the previous rule of the Taliban when women faced strict limits.
Several women were injured in the stampede after the fleeing protesters were shot in the air by Taliban militants trying to disperse the demonstrators, according to an eyewitness. "At least 130 women attended the protest in Kabul," the eyewitness said. "Several women were injured in the stampede."
Despite the fact that another protester got hurt in the stampede, she felt unsafe to visit a doctor, even though she was suffering from a great deal of pain. "I am in so much pain right now that even when I speak with you, I cannot speak. We could not go to a doctor because we are feeling unsafe, threatened," she said.
"Even now, I am shaking as I talk to you," she continued.
In addition to this, protesters criticized the Taliban leadership for killing soldiers that served under the previous Ashraf Ghani government.
Taliban leaders have been imposing restrictions on women travelling alone despite promising and assuring the international community that these women would be granted employment rights. Refusing to allow teenage girls to go to school and ordering vehicles to avoid picking up female passengers without a headscarf.
In addition, Taliban leadership shut down the former administration's Women's Affairs Ministry.
According to many, the Taliban's restrictions being imposed as law in Afghanistan pose a danger to the nation's growth and international recognition.
Women are forbidden to travel alone or attend schools and colleges. This kind of retrogressive thinking is dangerous," said Pakistan's Federal Minister for Information, Fawad Chaudhry.
In recent years, Afghan women's rights have been subject to a great deal of international attention, with many calling on the Taliban leadership to take realistic steps towards providing these rights, which are among the top demands, required for international recognition of the new Taliban government.
