Taliban forces clash with women shouting 'life, freedom'

Taliban forces clash with women shouting ‘life, freedom’ as Iranian protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in morality police custody spread to Afghanistan

  • Mahsa Amini, 22, died in custody after she was detained by morality police
  • Unrest and protests erupted in Iran after she passed away on 16 September 
  • Demonstrations spread to Afghanistan, where women protested outside embassy
  • The women holding banners were dispersed by Taliban who fired shots in the air 

Taliban forces today clashed with women shouting ‘life, freedom’ as Iranian protests over Masha Amini’s death in morality police custody spread to Afghanistan. 

Mahsa Amini, 22, died in custody after she was detained in Tehran by Iranian morality police who believed she was wearing her hijab too loosely.

The group of around 25 Afghan women protested against her death in front of Kabul’s Iranian embassy before they were dispersed by Taliban forces firing in the air.   

Powerful images show the woman holding banners high in the air while many bowed their heads, reflecting.

The banners read ‘Iran has risen, now it’s our turn!’ and ‘From Kabul to Iran, say no to dictatorship!’ 

But Taliban forces snatched and tore them in front of the protesters. 

An organiser of Thursday’s protest, speaking anonymously, said it was staged ‘to show our support and solidarity with the people of Iran and the women victims of the Taliban in Afghanistan’.

Taliban forces today clashed with women shouting ‘life, freedom’ as Iranian protests over Masha Amini’s death in morality police custody spread to Afghanistan. Pictured: The women protest outside the Iranian embassy in Kabul 

It comes as protests continue across neighbouring Iran, pictured, in defiance of a warning from the judiciary, with violent unrest having spread to at least 46 cities, towns and villages across the country following Amini’s death

Powerful images taken in Afghanistan, pictured, show the woman holding banners high in the air while many bowed their heads, reflecting. The banners read ‘Iran has risen, now it’s our turn!’ and ‘From Kabul to Iran, say no to dictatorship!’

Mahsa Amini, 22, pictured, died in custody after she was detained in Tehran by Iranian morality police who believed she was wearing her hijab too loosely

It comes as protests continue across neighbouring Iran, in defiance of a warning from the judiciary, with violent unrest having spread to at least 46 cities, towns and villages across the country following Amini’s death. 

Since the unrest began after her death on September 16, hundreds of activists, demonstrators and journalists have been arrested.  

At least 41 people have died- including both demonstrators and some members of the Islamic republic’s security forces – according to an official toll, although other sources say the real figure is higher.

Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said the death toll was at least 57, but noted that ongoing internet blackouts were making it increasingly difficult to confirm fatalities in a context where the women-led protests have in recent nights spread to scores of cities.

Echoing a warning the previous day by President Ebrahim Raisi, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei ’emphasised the need for decisive action without leniency’ against those organising the ‘riots’, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also criticised US support for the ‘rioters’ amid a security crackdown and curbs on internet and phones. 

Iran has summoned the British and Norwegian ambassadors over what it called interference and hostile media coverage of the nationwide unrest. 

Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jhina, was detained for allegedly breaching the rules that mandate tightly-fitted hijab head coverings and which ban, among other things, ripped jeans and brightly coloured clothes.

Pictured: Protests in Iran as people denounce the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody

Elsewhere, in Afghanistan, women’s rights activists have staged protests in Kabul and some other cities since the Taliban seized power last August.

The protests, banned by the Taliban, contravene a slew of harsh restrictions imposed by the hardline Islamists on Afghan women.

In the past, the Taliban have forcefully dispersed women’s rallies and warned journalists against covering them.

They have also detained activists helming organisation efforts.

Pictured: Afghan women rally to demand Jobs, food, education and better living conditions under the Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul on December 28, 2021

 The protests, banned by the Taliban, contravene a slew of harsh restrictions imposed by the hardline Islamists on Afghan women. Pictured: A demonstration in Afghanistan on December 28, 2021 

Girls have been banned from secondary school education and women have been barred from many government jobs since the Taliban returned to power.   

The Taliban have also ordered that women cover themselves fully in public, preferably with a burqa.   

And the group have so far dismissed calls to remove curbs on women, particularly the ban on secondary school education.

The ‘severe restrictions’ were on Tuesday slammed by a United Nations report, which called for them to be reversed.   

Internationally, the community has insisted that lifting controls on women’s rights is a key condition for recognising the Taliban government, which no country has so far done.  

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