Afghan women’s rights groups pushing back

As the Taliban reaffirmed its control of Afghanistan after declaring victory over a restive mountain province where resistance forces had held out, unease persists about a return to its severe interpretation of Islamic rule.

And small groups of female protesters are at the forefront of the pushback.

Women marched across the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif on Monday, in the latest of a string of protests in urban areas against the Taliban’s suppression of women’s rights.

The demonstrators dispersed only when the protest threatened to turn violent, with Taliban fighters growing agitated. One witness said two police vehicles intentionally drove toward the marchers.

“We were afraid. But at least, we demanded our rights,” said Karima Shujazada, a 26-year old protester in Mazar-e Sharif, who helped organize a march to the provincial governor’s office and around the city.

The deputy governor came out to assure them that the Taliban would respect women’s rights, she said.

“I talked to him about all of our achievements over the two decades, but the more I talked to him, the more he told me to stay a bit far from him,” said Shujazada.

The women carried placards with messages like “We want political participation at all levels” and decrying gender segregation.

Women’s rights protests have taken place in recent days in Herat and Kabul, the capital. Women also took to the streets of Zaranj, near the border with Iran, demanding respect for civil liberties. The Taliban on Saturday violently suppressed the Kabul march, though a spokesman for the group later told the Guardian they had detained four men who allegedly struck women at that demonstration.

Across Afghanistan, a generation of girls have grown up in a world completely different from the one their parents knew. When it last ruled from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned girls from school and women from the workplace. While the Islamist militants have pledged to govern more moderately, many remain deeply skeptical of their promises.

As university classes resumed across Afghanistan this week for the first time since the Taliban takeover, some institutions imposed gender segregation and divided classrooms with curtains or boards.

“I really felt terrible when I entered the class . ... We are gradually going back to 20 years ago,” a female student at Kabul University told Reuters.

The Taliban’s actions are being closely watched, with Western governments signaling that the resumption of most aid will be contingent on whether Afghanistan’s new rulers respect basic human rights.

At a news conference that day, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid promised women would eventually be “asked to return” to their jobs.