The Taliban have arrested Zarifa Yaqobi, a women’s rights activist, and four male attendees from a press conference in West Kabul.
A woman protester told Kabul Now that they held the press conference on Thursday, November 3rd, to announce the establishment of a protest movement for women’s rights. The Taliban disrupted this press conference and physically beat those present at the event, she added.
The Taliban have also confiscated some participants’ mobile phones, a source confirmed.
Since their return to power in August 2021, the ruling Taliban have imposed restrictions on women’s education, lifestyle, and work. The group has effectively banned education for girls above the 6th grade and removed hundreds of women from governmental posts.
In response, women’s rights activists have resorted to different ways of fighting back, particularly holding protest rallies and marching on the streets.
The group’s de-facto regime, however, has violently dispersed these protests in different parts of the country. In many cases, women protesters have been arrested for a period of time and forced to commit that they do not protest again.
