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Protest in Kabul: Taliban gunman points his gun at woman near Pakistani embassy in Kabul (Reuters)
New Delhi:
An Afghan woman faces an armed Taliban in one of the many compelling images that emerged from protests in Kabul on Tuesday against the hard-line group. The Taliban fired to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered in several rallies on the streets of the Afghan capital.
At least three rallies took place in a show of unprecedented defiance against the Taliban, known for their brutality, especially towards women, during their last stint in power. Most of the women led one of the protests outside the Pakistani embassy.
The Reuters photo of the gun aimed at the Afghan woman, tweeted by Tolo News reporter Zahra Rahimi, had echoes defining image of a lonely man defiantly blocking tanks in Tiananmen Square in China in 1989.
“An Afghan woman stands courageously face to face with a Taliban gunman who has pointed his gun at his chest,” Ms. Rahimi wrote.
An Afghan woman courageously stands face to face with a Taliban gunman who has pointed his gun at his chest.
Photo: @Reuterspic.twitter.com/8VGTnMKsih– Zahra Rahimi (@ZahraSRahimi) September 7, 2021
A growing number of protests have erupted across the country over the past week, with Afghans fearing a repeat of the previous oppressive Taliban rule when people were publicly executed in stadiums.
Videos posted on social media showed dozens of people walking the streets, waving banners and chanting slogans, as armed members of the Taliban watched.
Journalists claimed that they had been brutalized and that their identification papers and cameras had been snatched by the Taliban. The Kabul-based Association of Afghan Independent Journalists said 14 journalists – both Afghans and foreigners – were briefly detained during the protests before being released. Journalists have been seen with cuts and bruises to their hands and knees in images online.
Hours after the protests, the Taliban announced their government, which includes the UN blacklisted Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund as prime minister and Taliban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar as deputy.
Observers say the absence of women in the interim Afghan government raises questions about Taliban statements about protecting and respecting the rights of Afghan women and girls.
With contributions from AFP and Reuters
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