Taliban suppress protests by women against mandatory hijab in Kabul

Kabul: Taliban militants dispersed a handful of women who staged a demonstration in Kabul against the decision to make hijab mandatory and also detained journalists.

In the protest in Kabul, the protesters chanted 'The burqa is not our hijab' and 'Afghan women in the Taliban's grip - the Afghan people in need a mouthful of bread," three days after the Taliban took the decision to make "the hijab mandatory," The Khaama Press reported. They took to the streets with the slogan "Bread, Work, and Freedom," claiming that their rallies were a continuation of Afghan women's protests.

The protest began at the Ansari square of Shahr-e-Naw and continued just outside of the Ministry of Interior, where the Taliban surrounded them and detained journalists, according to The Khaama Press citing Zhulia Parsi, one of the protesting girls.

"The Taliban snatched the girls' smartphones and took them away," she claimed.
According to Zhulia, Taliban forces reportedly ripped down the banners and dispersed the protesters. She further said that they wanted to take the women inside the ministry and force them to confess.
Earlier, regarding the mandatory hijab, the US stated that if the Taliban do not halt their actions, it will increase pressure on the regime.
At a press briefing on Monday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said the pressure will continue until the Taliban rescind some of their recent decisions restricting women's and girls' rights, reported The Khaama Press.

"We have explicitly raised this concern with the Taliban, and we have some instruments at our disposal that we are prepared to utilize if we believe the Taliban's recent crackdown on women will not be reversed or repealed," said Price.
On Saturday, the Taliban leader issued a new directive requiring all Afghan women to wear the Islamic hijab.
Taliban's statement outlined the steps taken by the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice officials to oversee the implementation of the mandatory hijab, reported Khaama Press.
The first step in this process is to find unveiled women's homes and advise and warn the women's parents.

In the second stage, the woman's father or guardian is summoned to the concerned department, and a case is filed against the woman's father or parents, and the person's trial begins, reported Khaama Press.
During their previous rule, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban denied women the right to work and education, and the group's stance over the past nine months, which has dominated Afghanistan, suggests that the group is once again pressing for stricter controls. (ANI)