Have women stopped protesting?

After the taliban takeover in mid-August 2021 women were the only group left who stood and demonstrated against the regime, fighting for their basic rights. It appears, however, that the Taliban want to silence them through the use of force. In the wake of the recent detention of female protesters and activists the protests have stopped. Today, I tried to interview these activists, but they all refused to talk.

Following the expansion of protests to different provinces, the taliban arrested four female protesters in January 2022. Just a few days ago the interior ministry of taliban released a 14-minute long video in which some female protesters talk about their connection with women outside Afghanistan. Many people reacted to the video. Amnesty International condemned sharing the video, and the envoy of the organization, Samira Hamidi in a series of tweets said, “The fear is visible in their face(s). Their voice is shaking. Some of them cannot even look at the camera.”

Amnesty International called this Taliban practice “filthy and dangerous”. Human Rights Watch also said that it is not clear under which circumstances these women appeared in front of the camera. But women's rights activists living abroad said that these women were under pressure, and referred to their statements as “forced confessions.” Confessions in an atmosphere of fear and panic

Human rights activists outside Afghanistan say the taliban have not only taken hostage women but also their families and children, and had them confess in front of the camera using torture and terror.

Tarnum Saeedi, a women's rights activist who used to participate in protests in the streets of Kabul and is currently living outside of Afghanistan, said the women detained appearing in the video are in a state of panic, and added  “The taliban tortured the girls. Unfortunately, the taliban has have caused these girls to be in the worst mental condition. The Taliban will not continue committing crimes until Judgment Day, this dark day will come to an end.”

"These brave girls are in the custody of the taliban and have said something under duress, we understand them and respect every word they said. Because they have been forced to say such things under torture. We hope the taliban stop these crimes,” Ms. Saeedi added.

Asefa Stanekzai, a women's rights activist currently living outside Afghanistan, said it was clear that the video was recorded under certain conditions. “The video uses intimidation and fear to show that Afghans are satisfied with the present situation,” she explained.

Are the protests over? Faced with the arrests and the release of a video of female protesters in Afghanistan women no longer dare to take to the streets to protest. In recent days the streets have been quiet, and female protesters don’t even express their thoughts on social media.