Afghan activists accuse the Taliban of arresting two women who participated in a demonstration

Zakia Kawiyan has gone to live with her husband's brother.

She considers that it is the safest thing to do after the

of two women who, like her, participated last Sunday in a protest in Kabul against the restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

There has been no news of Tamana Zaryab Paryani and Parvaneh Ibrahimkhel since they were forcibly removed from their homes by armed men on Wednesday night, along with three sisters of the former.

Kawiyan and other Afghan activists warn that the crackdown is spreading.

"We women who protest are used to threats and problems," Zakia Kawiyan, co-leader of one of the groups that organized the demonstration, confides to EL PAÍS. But what happened to Ibrahimkhel and Paryani is more serious. Nobody knows where they are. The Taliban have denied detaining them. However, the men who took them identified themselves as members of the militia's “intelligence department”. The interlocutor fears for their lives.

Before his arrest, Paryani managed to record a video on his mobile in which he asked for help and which was broadcast by the Aamaj News agency.

"Help, please, the Taliban have shown up at our house... Only my sisters are at home," she can be heard saying, very nervous.

Paryani's family has confirmed the capture of Tamana and her three sisters by the Taliban, although, according to the activists, they did not participate in the protests.

The spokesman for the Kabul police, Taliban general Mobin Khan, has mocked the video on Twitter, calling it a "set-up".

For his part, Khalil Hamraz, a spokesman for the General Intelligence Directorate, has accused the activists of "defaming the new rulers of Afghanistan and their security forces to obtain asylum in the West."

1 / 2- ځینې څهرې بهرنیو هېوادونو ته د تګ په موخه, د دیني او ملي ارزښتونو سپکاوی کوي, پر اسلامي امارت او امنیتي ځواکونو بې بنسټه تورونه پورې کوي او پدې توګه غواړي چې خارج ته د تللو لپاره ځانته کېسونه جوړ کړي.

— 𝑲𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒍 ​​𝑯𝒂𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒛 خلیل همراز (@khalil_hamraz) January 20, 2022

Hamraz has warned that "insults to the national and religious values ​​of Afghans will no longer be tolerated."

His words are interpreted as a reference to the demonstration on Sunday, in which Paryani apparently set fire to a burqa, the sackcloth that covers the body of women from head to toe with just a mesh at eye level. .

Although the Taliban have not officially imposed the burqa, there are more and more posters and recommendations in this regard.

In the latest protest, in addition to demanding "equal rights" and "justice", the women also complained about the imposition of "veils and robes", before the militiamen dispersed them using pepper spray.

At least one of the protesters ended up in hospital.

The Taliban seized power last August.

In their first measures, they only asked that women respect the hijab, that is, that they cover their hair and body shapes, but they did not impose a precise model or restrict their freedom of movement.

They even promised that, unlike their previous dictatorship (1996-2001), they would be able to study and work.

However, reality denies them every day.

"They dictate what women should wear, how they should travel, gender segregation at work and even the type of phone they should use," denounces the human rights organization Human Rights Watch in a report referring to the province of Ghazni, but that is applicable to the rest of the country.

Afghan women are not resigned to the opprobrium to which the Taliban regime condemns them.

Despite the ban on demonstrations, they have continued to protest.

Every day is more dangerous.

Kawiyan, head of Communications at the Ministry for Women, which the Taliban have closed down, receives constant threats on his Facebook.

"Recently my son was shopping in a store near home, [the Taliban] told him that they had seen me on television and to tell me to stop doing it," he says in an exchange of messages.

“It is true that they are terrible and monsters, but this is my country, I am not afraid and I continue to protest.

I learned from my mother, who stood up to the Taliban 20 years ago, despite being beaten and flogged several times,” she concludes.

Meeting in Oslo

EPA, Copenhagen

Members of the Taliban government of Afghanistan are going to meet with representatives of the international community and with Afghan civil groups in Oslo from Sunday to next Tuesday, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported this Friday. The Afghan groups include female leaders, journalists, and people involved in human rights issues, humanitarian aid, and economic, social, and political issues, according to the statement.

"We are very concerned about the serious situation in Afghanistan. It is a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe for millions of people. To help civilians in Afghanistan, the international community and Afghans from different social groups must dialogue with the Taliban," says the minister. Foreign Office, Anniken Huitfeldt.

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