Kabul protest calls attention to recent killing of two Hazara women

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 17 : The Kabul protest organised by Afghan women on Sunday called attention to the recent killing of two Hazara women.
"(The protest is) for the Sake of Zainab Abdulahi and Zainab Ahmadi, those who were killed in the night without committing any crime," said a protestor, reported Tolo News.
"While I am alive and have one drop of blood in my body, we will stand, we will fight. The bullet that hit the Hazara Girl's chest- hit my chest as well," another protestor said.
The Hazara minority in Afghanistan are regularly subjected to targeted killings, violence, and discrimination based on their religious and ethnic identity.
The targeted attacks have increased exponentially and the Hazara minority has been subject to daily violence by the Taliban.
Soon after the Taliban seized much of Afghanistan in a matter of days, the group destroyed and blew up slain Hazara leader Abdul Ali Mazari's statue in Bamiyan, a grim reminder of the destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas during its previous tenure.
The demonstration was launched in the Debori area of Kabul and ended in the vicinity of Kabul University, reported Tolo News.
The protestors expressed anger over the murder of two women in Kabul city. They also said that two women were "shot dead by the Islamic Emirate forces."
Protestors also said that three high-profile women have been taken into custody by the Islamic Emirate. According to the protestors, three women were taken into detention during a demonstration in the northern province of Balkh. The three women are yet to be released, the protestors said, reported Tolo News.
The protestors expressed alarm over spiking food prices amid high unemployment in the country and called on the international community to help Afghanistan.
"We want to raise our voices so that our voices could be heard by the international community, which is against injustice and oppression," said a protestor.
Earlier, a family claimed that Zainab, a young girl, was shot dead at a security checkpoint while she was on her way home from a wedding party along with other relatives.
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly said that it is committed to ensuring women's rights based on Islamic and Afghan traditional values.
Following the Taliban's power grab in Kabul, Afghan women have repeatedly protested in a number of cities in the country, asking that their rights be respected and for representation in the government and local authorities.