Marwa, an 18-year-old girl, defied the armed Taliban in Kabul on Sunday (December 25) by showing her poster demanding women’s right to education in Afghanistan.
“For the first time in my life I felt very proud, strong and powerful because I was claiming a right that God had given us,” Marwa told AFP, who declined to give her last name.
Last Tuesday, the Taliban government banned women from attending university, sparking outrage from the international community.
Some women’s groups staged sporadic demonstrations against the ban, but authorities quickly dispersed the crowd. Marwa, for her part, chose to protest alone.
On Sunday, the young woman visited Kabul University, the country’s largest and most prestigious educational institution. Filmed by her sister from a car, Marwa bravely stood in front of the Taliban guards stationed at the entrance of the establishment for about ten minutes.
Brave woman: Marwa, 18, hardened Taliban taunts and insults last weekend for her solo protest ≠ the ban on university education for women.
“For the 1st time in my life I felt so proud, strong and mighty, because I stood ≠ them and claimed a right that God has given us,” she shared @AFP. pic.twitter.com/kjbHmaVOOj
– Aya Iskandarani (@Aya_Isk) December 27, 2022
In a video obtained by AFP, the young woman appears to be silently holding a sign that read “Iqra” (“Read”, in the Arabic translation).
“Meanwhile, they (the Taliban) were insulting each other, but I was reassured,” Marwa told AFP. “I wanted to show the strength of an Afghan teenager,” said Marwa, adding that “even one person” can fight “against oppression.”
“If my other sisters (students) see that a single young woman has risen against the Taliban, it will help them do the same and defeat them,” she added.
Women’s demonstrations have become less and less common in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021. Women participating in demonstrations are regularly arrested and subjected to violence.
A few days after banning women’s access to university education, authorities also ordered NGOs to stop working with women.
The Taliban claim that both bans were imposed because women did not follow Islamic dress codes. In Afghanistan, women are required to cover their face and entire body.
In the past 16 months, the Taliban have also banned teenagers from secondary education and women from most public offices.
For Marwa, who dreams of becoming a painter, living in Afghanistan is like living in prison.
“I don’t want to be arrested. I have big dreams that I want to fulfill. That’s why I decided to protest”he claimed.
Source: DN
