To mark International Women’s Day, a group of Afghan women took to the streets in Afghanistan’s Ghor province and protested against the restrictions on women’s rights to education and work.
It is reported that Taliban officials have prevented the media coverage of the gathering, in which protesting women were asking the ruling regime to reverse the bans and allow women and girls to return to public life.
Prior to this, a group of women in Kabul had protested against the strict policies of the Taliban on women and girls, however, nothing has changed for the better so far.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the group has issued a series of decrees completely easing women from public life. These moves have sparked widespread condemnations on national and international levels.
Meanwhile, women hit on the streets throughout the globe, asking for the restoration of their rights in different walks of life. From Spain to Thailand, Indonesia, and the United States, women showed their solidarity for those women who have been deprived of their natural rights.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday, saying gender equality would take another three centuries to achieve, and global progress on women’s rights is vanishing before our eyes. Pointing to Afghanistan, Guterres said, “Women and girls have been erased from public life.”
The humanitarian situation is worsening in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls who have been deprived of their basic natural rights. Universities and educational institutions reopened on March 6, but only male students could attend classes.
Gender segregation indicates that women and girls have been barred from attending schools and universities for the past 18 months, with no prospects to see any positive change in the near future.
