Amid global fear for the safety and freedoms of Afghan women following the Taliban's takeover of the country, tens of Afghan women risked their lives and took to the streets of Kabul in demand of their freedoms.
Some Afghan women have come out to remind the Taliban that “Afghan women exist. Don’t silence us. Work, education, political participation is our right. Don’t erase women. Be the voice of Af women. Support us."
— Sana Safi ثنا ساپۍ (@BBCSanaSafi) August 17, 2021
The courage of Afghans, especially women, never ceases to amaze me. https://t.co/3CGdhmOvU7
The protests which have been described as "brave" and "unprecedented" in areas controlled by the Taliban have included Afghan women, most of whom covered their heads but revealed their faces, as they held signs stressing their demands for the rights to education and work under the Taliban's control.
The protest has been perceived as a "courageous attempt by Afghan women to reclaim their entitlement to practice their rights despite all risks".
#Afghanistan : Video circulating widely that appears to show several women in #Kabul holding protest for their rights as #Taliban looks on #كابل pic.twitter.com/xvRkq0Cyz3
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) August 17, 2021
This comes at a time the Taliban's spokespersons have reassured the international community that they will maintain women's rights "as per Islamic laws" and that they "have learned from past mistakes."
Moreover, a Taliban spokesperson has appeared on a show presented by a female anchor on the private TV channel Tolo News, with the female presenter wearing the same attire she used to wear before the fall of Kabul.
Tolo News had previously announced that its female journalists will continue to work across the capital city as per usual. Journalist Hasiba Atakpal has been seen reporting from the ground on the very next day after the Taliban took over Kabul.
TOLOnews and the Taliban making history again: Abdul Haq Hammad, senior Taliban rep, speaking to our (female) presenter Beheshta earlier this morning. Unthinkable two decades ago when they were last in charge @TOLOnews pic.twitter.com/XzREQ6ZJ1a
— Saad Mohseni (@saadmohseni) August 17, 2021
A female presenter at the Afghani "Tolo" satellite TV channel returns to work and conducts an interview with a member of the #Taliban.
— Arwa Ibrahim (@arwaib) August 17, 2021
The satellite channel, which began broadcasting in 2003, is a private satellite channel and is widely followed in #Afghanistan. https://t.co/9BKSwhRgDv
We resumed our broadcast with female anchors today.@TOLOnews #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/YLqtJEYceL
— Miraqa Popal (@MiraqaPopal) August 17, 2021
During the five years in which the Taliban ruled Afghanistan prior to the US invasion of the country in 2001, the Taliban had implemented an extreme interpretation of Islamic laws, preventing women from receiving education, working, or appearing in public spaces without being accompanied by male family members. The Taliban had also imposed a full-cover attire on all women, known as "the blue burqa."
