Afghans march for their rights

A group of brave women demanded their rights yesterday during a march through the streets of Herat.

Fifty women challenge the fundamentalist regime to demand in Herat that their jobs be respected

One might be surprised if no significant post in the new Afghan government was held by a female member, as spokesman Zabihulá Muyahid confirmed to the Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ yesterday. “They will not be as ministers, but, with the Koran and sharia (Islamic law) as red lines, they could, for example, work in ministries, the Police or the magistracy as assistants,” he said. He also added that young women will be allowed “to study at universities and be protagonists of the new society.” «There are many, many in hospitals. They are magnificent nurses.

It would be unthinkable that in a sexist and extremely violent society with women, they would have the courage to demonstrate to demand their rights once they have lost the protection of the Western forces that occupied the Central Asian country for twenty years. However, it happened yesterday. Some fifty young people marched through the streets of Herat, the western Afghan provincial capital close to the border with Iran and a city considered rather liberal, to claim in an unprecedented way their right to work and not to live confined in their homes under the male yoke.

“It is our duty to have education, work and security,” the participants chanted in unison, some of whom carried banners that called for respect for women’s rights and pointed out that no Executive “will be sustainable without women.” “We are not afraid. We are united, “they shouted without being interrupted at any time by the Islamists, who during their previous period at the helm of the country (1996-2001), extremely radical, mercilessly repressed any opposition during their regime and women disappeared from public space. The vast majority were deprived of education and employment, the burqa was compulsory on the streets and they could not move without being accompanied by a man from their family.

“We are not afraid. We are united, “they shouted before Islamists who remained impassive.

Among those attending yesterday’s march were activists, university students and civil servants. At least one of the protesters wore a burqa, while the others wore a simple veil that hid their hair, ears and neck. ”

“Willing to wear a burqa”

There was Fareshta Taheri, artist and photographer, who was interviewed by the French agency AFP through a phone call. “Women and girls fear that the Taliban will not allow them to go to school and work,” he said, not satisfied with an administration run solely by men.

“We are willing to wear a burqa, but we want to go to school and work,” he stressed. In any case, he also pointed out that “at the moment most of those who have a job in Herat are at home, with fear and uncertainty. Doctors or nurses who have dared to return to their posts complain that the Taliban are making fun of them, but we want them to agree to speak with us.

Although now the Taliban say they have changed and claim to advocate for an “inclusive” government, the female population mistrusts the promise that they will not lose rights or, at least, they will not regress to the irrelevance of twenty years ago, during the era of the Islamic Emirate .

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source https://pledgetimes.com/afghans-march-for-their-rights/