Days after demonstrations by Herat University students protesting the genocide of the Hazaras were suppressed by the Taliban, a group of students came together to hold a rally in secret. Around 30 students participated in a ceremony designed to honour the victims of the Kaaj educational centre suicide attack through a poetry reading and candle lighting ceremony, one of the organizers, Sahar Ebrahimi, tells Zan Times.
The latest figures say that 57 people have died and more 110 are injured at the Kaaj centre, many of them are girls.
One of the participants of the secret rally, who asked not to be named, says that he was there to protest the genocide of the Hazaras and hoped that the world would listen to their protest. “The killing of Hazara people and the increasing oppression of Afghan women are happening in front of the eyes of the world,” he says. “I hope that the world and the United Nations will step beyond condemnation to force the Taliban to change the situation.”
Another participant expressed worry about the increasing number of attacks on Hazaras and criticized the Taliban for their failure to provide security, saying, “The most important claim of the Taliban in the past year is the establishment of security in Afghanistan, which recent events show they have failed.”
The terrorist attack at the Kaaj educational centre has been widely condemned by the UN and foreign governments. As well, Afghans protested in cities throughout the country and around the world, causing a social media hashtag #StopHazaraGenocide to go viral.
