Journalists have been beaten by the Taliban in Afghanistan to prevent them from covering a women's demonstration in central Kabul today.
Twenty women were members of a group that managed to protest in the center of the Afghan capital for more than an hour and a half without being arrested or beaten by the Taliban who were there. The demonstration was about defending their rights to education and work.
The demonstration developed with the demonstrators wearing colorful scarves, coats and trousers. They shouted "unemployment, poverty, hunger" and "we want to work", and demanded that schools for girls be reopened.
The women, who had been surrounded by Taliban security forces, were holding stickers of A4 paper on which they had written "we have no right to work".
The previous women's demonstration in Afghanistan took place on September 30 and was broken up by the Taliban minutes after it began.
In today's demonstration, the Taliban prevented journalists from approaching women, photographing or videotaping their protest.
One of the journalists present at the scene was hit by a gun, while the Taliban started kicking him to move away from the spot and one of them threatened him.
Some of the Taliban were armed with AK-47 or M-16 rifles.
The women were not physically assaulted during the march, but the Taliban repeatedly tried to quell the protests, although they did not make any arrests.
Eventually the women decided to end their protest on their own, one of the organizers told AFP.
"This is the situation: the Taliban respect nothing, neither journalists, foreigners or locals, nor women," said Zahra Mohammadi, one of the organizers of the rally.
"My message to all the girls in the country is' do not be afraid of the Taliban and even if your family does not let you leave the house, do not be afraid, go out, come, make sacrifices, fight for your rights. "You have to do it to change things for the next generation," she said.
in.gr