Human rights groups concerned after Afghan women allegedly abducted after protest

KABUL -

Protesting for women’s rights in Afghanistan has become increasingly dangerous since the Taliban takeover in the summer, according to activist groups, as protests are met with new violence.

Taliban fighters broke up a small march on the streets of Kabul last weekend with pepper spray and threats of violence, according to some of the women involved.

Now, following the alleged abduction of several female Afghan protesters from their homes a few days ago, the United Nations is urging the Taliban to provide information on the whereabouts of these women.

“This really seems like it potentially marks a new approach by the Taliban where they’ve decided that protests have to be crushed at whatever cost,” Heather Barr, associate director of the Women’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, told CTV National News.

A few days after the protest, Taliban intelligence agents allegedly stormed a building to arrest some of the women involved in the protest, including Tamana Paryani and her two sisters. A fourth woman was also allegedly picked up.

Cellphone video showed Paryani yelling for help from inside, as Taliban security forces pounded on the door.

“Help, please,” she could be heard saying. “Only my sisters are home.”

The women have not been seen since. A witness to the abduction told the Associated Press that around 10 armed men carried out the raid.

“The rumours about the arrest of women are false,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, adding that anyone who disobeys the law will be detained.

Since the Taliban have taken power, they’ve introduced new restrictions for women, including barring them from work, making headscarves compulsory, and requiring women to be accompanied by a male relative in public spaces.

Young girls and women are also largely kept from education with rules requiring gendered segregation in schools. Many secondary schools are closed to girls.

Women seeking to protest this treatment are not merely risking arrest -- there is the terrifying spectre of protesters simply disappearing.

“These women, they’ve captured the world’s imagination, the world’s attention, at a moment when the world’s interest in Afghanistan has been waning dramatically,” Barr said.

The Taliban have denied arresting Paryani and the other activists, and no one has claimed responsibility, with some human rights activists condemning the international community for not raising an outcry. 

With files from The Associated Press and CTVNews.ca's Alexandra Mae Jones