Protesting Women Burn Images of Taliban Leaders and Their Supporters in Kabul

The protest movement of unity and solidarity symbolically crossed out and burned images of Taliban officials and supporters of the group. These women stated on Friday, August 4, in Kabul, that not only do Afghan women not want to negotiate with the Taliban under any circumstances, but they also demand the non-recognition of the Taliban and the destruction of this group. They said, 'We will not allow any man or woman to sacrifice the captive women of Afghanistan for their own benefit.' They also chanted slogans such as 'No to terrorists, no to Taliban lobbyists.' The images burned by these protesting women included photos of Mullah Hibatullah, the Taliban leader, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister of the Taliban, Shukria Barakzai, a former member of the Afghan House of Representatives, Fatima Gilani, and some other Afghan women. A few days earlier, a number of women in a closed location inside Afghanistan had conducted a similar symbolic act in response to statements made by Rina Amiri, the U.S. State Department representative for human rights, women, and girls in Afghanistan. Rina Amiri recently tweeted about the reasons for her meeting with Taliban representatives: 'At the insistence of many Afghans and human rights advocates on the necessity of direct engagement with the Taliban regarding human rights, especially the severe restrictions against women and girls, I joined my colleagues in discussions with the Taliban.' Amiri's statements provoked serious reactions from women. The coalition of women's protest movements stated in a statement on August 2 (11 Mordad) in response to Rina Amiri's remarks that the women's movements in Afghanistan, which have tirelessly fought for the human rights of the Afghan people, especially women, have never called for direct engagement with the Taliban. The coalition's statement reads: 'Direct engagement of the international community has yielded no achievements for the people of Afghanistan in nearly two years and has only legitimized a regime of oppression and gender apartheid.' The coalition of Afghan women's protest movements stated in this announcement that it was formed after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, consisting of all ethnic groups in the country, and fights against oppression and inequality. These women have stated that the members of this coalition represent human rights activists, students, teachers, working women, university professors, health sector employees, and employees of various governmental and non-governmental institutions who have been deprived of their rights to education, work, movement, and even life due to being women. They asserted that they have not sought direct engagement with the Taliban with anyone or any government. According to this coalition, 'direct engagement with the Taliban' equates to recognizing 'gender apartheid and terrorism.' This article was compiled using a report from the Dari section of Voice of America.