Women activists staged an indoor demonstration demanding the release of Zarifa Yaqoubi and other protesters who were arrested at a press conference last week, local sources tell Zan Times.
On Thursday, November 3, Taliban gunmen stormed into a press conference held to inaugurate the Women’s Movement for Equality and arrested Zarifa Yaqoubi along with four of her male colleagues. Their fate is unknown.
The women activists held their demonstration at a secret location on Monday, fearing a Taliban intervention, such as the one that occurred last Thursday. In videos and photos shared with Zan Times, the women activists demanded the immediate and unconditional release of their fellow activists.
“You cannot silence the voices of justice-seeking and freedom-seeking women with prison, torture and murders,” they said to the Taliban in a meeting resolution.
The protesters noted that the strong public sentiment against the arrests of such prominent activists would continue. “Don’t test women’s patience more than this. Our voices cannot be silenced by violence. We women are more awake than ever. You cannot destroy us by murder, torture and prison,” they said in their resolution. “Afghan women are not the women of the 90s. We do not remain silent in the face of tyranny and oppression. We prefer death to silence. We women will fight patriarchy to its end.”
The activists also rejected the Taliban’s claim that foreign powers were involved in last Thursday’s press conference. These protesters said that its organizers had received an official permission letter and were held in coordination with relevant security authorities.
They also rejected as “completely baseless” those accusations by the Taliban that the women activists had external support. Indeed, the women activists have criticized the inaction of the international community and called on them to aid in acting for the release of the detainees.
On November 5, Karen Decker, the charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, called on the Taliban to release Zarifa Yaqoubi and her colleagues as soon as possible. In her tweet, she stated, “The U.S. will never stop supporting women’s rights to live, work, and assemble in peace.”
Since the Taliban came to power, they have arbitrarily arrested many activists, former government soldiers, and journalists. As well, the Taliban has banned all protests and severely represses anyone who organizes or takes part in demonstrations. In January 2022, Human Rights Watch documented their violent crackdown on women protesters in Kabul. Those who still attempt to demonstrate are beaten, pepper sprayed and threatened with weapons.
