Against the backdrop of the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan, a women's demonstration was held in the capital Kabul on Friday demanding full equality and adequate representation in the political process in light of the extremist Sunni organization's intention to strictly enforce Islamic law and effectively exclude women from public space.
The demonstration, the very existence of which involved a significant risk to the protesters, was held in the form of a parade in front of the Afghan Ministry of Finance, during which a confrontation broke out between Taliban forces and although they shouted "Get out of here" they continued to demonstrate, CNN reported.
The New York Times reported that the Taliban used physical violence to disperse the demonstration.
A number of women who took part in the demonstration reported being severely beaten, appearing to be the first public incident between women and Taliban forces, and also marked the end of the organization's "smile attack", which tried to market itself as respectful and respectful of women.
One of the protesters, 24, spoke to the newspaper and said the organization used tear gas, butt butts, metal batons and other objects against the group of 100 women.
She herself received a blow using one of the batons, and lost consciousness and had to receive treatment which eventually stitched her wound with five stitches.
"When I tried to resist and keep marching, one of the Taliban pushed me and hit me with my sharp metal bone," she said.
"They pushed us all and forced us to leave the place, and chased us with the gas and batons, cursing us in blatant language," she said.