Kabul women shift protest mode, write demands on city walls at night

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 11 : Afghan women and activists, who have been protesting after Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, have shifted their protest mode by writing their demands on walls at night to avoid violence by the Islamic Emirate forces.
The women protesters said they switched to writing on walls to avoid violence from daytime protests in the streets and write slogans calling for girls' right to education, women's right to work, women's choice of clothes and the inclusion of women in social and political life, reported Tolo News.
According to them, they want to continue demanding for their rights by writing on walls, which also enables them to avoid facing any violence, reported Tolo News.
"Our protests were met with threats and violence, so we switched to murals to achieve our fundamental rights and will continue these protests," Tamana Rezaie, a protester said.
"Murals are our new method of protesting for calling for our rights. Because our protests were often met by violence from the Taliban," said Leda, another protester.
"Women's rights in choosing their clothing style, work, and education are restricted. We will not stay silent and will raise our voice," said Aziz Gul, a protester.
Meanwhile, women protesters and activists called on the Islamic Emirate to grant women their rights and warned they will expand their protests in the provinces if their demands are not met, reported Tolo News.
"Today's women are not the women of 20 years ago. Our new protest methods will expand in all the provinces, and we will use any possible means to raise our voice," said Navida Khurasani, a women's rights activist.
"We want our rights. We will not let them be rolled back and will continue our protests until we are given our rights," Darya Neshat, a women rights activist said.
In addition to writing on walls, protests in homes and wearing men's clothing are other new methods being used by Afghan women, reported Tolo News.
Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan is a nightmare for Afghan women. They have imposed many repressive rules on women including banning education, work, and long travel.
After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, the incidents of threatening women are becoming a 'new normal'.
The Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice earlier issued posters around the capital Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up.
In a video posted by Euronews, the poster shows an image of the face-covering burqa that was placed on cafes and shops this week by the Ministry of Virtue and Vice.
"According to Sharia law, Muslim women must wear the hijab," the poster reads, referring to the practice of covering up.
In recent days, the Islamic Emirate Ministry of Virtue and Vice issued a new directive on women's travel, saying the women who are travelling long distances by road should be accompanied by a male relative, and they should wear a hijab, to cover their head and face. The directive also banned playing music in the vehicles, reported Tolo News.