Rukhshana, September 28, 2023

Taliban detain a woman protester and her son in Kabul without charge

An Afghan women protestor and her adult son have been detained by Taliban forces in a raid on the family home in Qala-e-Fatullah in Kabul

An Afghan women protestor and her adult son have been detained by Taliban forces in a raid on the family home in Qala-e-Fatullah in Kabul, according to one of the family’s relatives.

Taliban forces first arrested Zhulia Parsi’s 21-year-old son from his workplace – a photography shop in Kot-e-Sangi area, before taking him to Qala-e-Fatullah and raiding Zhulia Parsi’s home and taking her away, the source said.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Taliban forces returned to Mrs Parsi’s home at around 1.00PM, interrogated her remaining children, and took away some of her documents.

The family do not know where Mrs Parsi and her son have been taken, and the de facto authorities are not commenting on the issue.

Mrs Parsi is one of the protesting women and a member of the women’s movement called the Spontaneous Women’s Movement in Kabul. She has participated in many demonstrations for women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, a number of women and girls and civil activists have launched a social media campaign using the hashtag #FreeZhuliaParsi to demand her immediate release.

“Zhulia Parsi was one of the active and protesting women, Sima Noori, a women’s rights activist posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Her arrest’s news by the enemies of humanity and misogynists, the Taliban, is unfortunate.”

Hoda Khamosh, another women’s rights activist, said in a post, “Every day we just go backward. We are oppressed every day. We are moving towards the Stone Ages every day. From trouble to aggression and restrictions that are increasing on daily basis. Today Zhulia Parsi was detained with her eldest son by the group of ignorance, and until now there is no information about their fate.”

Last week the Taliban intelligence forces arrested Neda Parwani, her husband, and her four-year-old son. To date, there is still no information about their fate.

Amnesty International has expressed its concern about the situation of Mrs Parwani and her family and demanded their immediate and unconditional release.

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