An activist reported that a small group of Afghan women protested defiantly against a Taliban decree barring them from universities on Thursday in Kabul, and that several of them were detained.
The Taliban’s minister of higher education on Tuesday issued an order prohibiting women from enrolling in all public and private universities, marking the latest step toward limiting human rights in Afghanistan.
“They expelled women from universities. Oh, the respected people, support, support. Rights for everyone or no one!” chanted the protesters as they rallied in a Kabul neighborhood, footage obtained by AFP showed.
At the demonstration, a protester informed AFP that “several of the females” had been detained by female police officers. She continued, speaking under the condition of anonymity, “Two were released, but dozens were still in custody.”
A group of about twenty ladies marching through the streets waving their hands and yelling slogans while some were wearing masks and hijabs.
Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in August of last year, after the incarceration of key activists at the beginning of the year, women-led protests have been progressively less common.
Participants risk arrest, violence and social stigma for taking part.
The women had initially planned to gather in front of Kabul University, the country’s biggest and most prestigious educational institution, but changed locations after the authorities deployed a large number of security personnel there.
Tuesday’s late-night statement caused fury around the world, and the United States, the UN, and numerous Muslim countries all condemned it.
Fewer than three months after thousands of people were permitted to take university entrance examinations, the ban shocked everyone.
