Taliban Forces Fire on Women’s Rally in Kabul as Protests in Iran Spread Around World

Taliban forces opened fire on a women’s rally protesting the death of an Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of Iran’s morality police because she was wearing her hijab improperly. The group of about 25 Afghan women was demonstrating in front of the Iranian Embassy in Kabul on Thursday in support of massive protests in Iran against the death earlier this month of Mahsa Amini, 22; they held signs bearing slogans including “Iran has risen, now it’s our turn!” and “From Kabul to Iran, say no to dictatorship!” Taliban forces snatched the signs from the women and tore them up before firing into the air. Women have been demonstrating in banned protests in Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan against the repressive Taliban regime since it took over more than a year ago. In addition to banning girls from secondary school education, the Taliban require women to cover themselves in public, preferably with a burqa – which covers a woman’s entire face, not just her hair. Iran has been engulfed in nearly two weeks of violent protest since Amini’s death. Several dozen protesters have been killed and some 1,200 arrested, according to reports.