Afghanistan | Only Marwa challenges the Taliban

“For the first time in my life, I felt very proud, strong and powerful because I stood up against them and claimed the right that God had given us,” said Marwa, who declined to give her name.

Last Tuesday, the Taliban government banned university education for women, sparking outrage from the international community.

Some women’s groups staged sporadic protests against the ban, which the authorities quickly dispersed, but Marwa chose to protest alone.

On Sunday, he visited Kabul University, the largest and most prestigious institution in the country.

For about ten minutes, Marwa, filmed by her sister from a car, stood bravely in front of the Taliban guards stationed at the gates of the establishment.

Silently, she held up a sign that read “Iqra” in Arabic, as seen in a video obtained by AFP.

“This time they (Taliban) insulted me, but I remained calm,” Marwa said.

“I wanted to show the power of an Afghan woman: to say that even one person can stand up against oppression,” she explains.

“If my other sisters (students) see a woman standing up against the Taliban, it will help them rise up and defeat them.”

Women’s protests have been rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the country in August 2021. Female participants are regularly arrested and assaulted.

Days after university education for women was banned, authorities ordered NGOs to no longer work with women. The Taliban said the two bans were decided because women did not respect Islamic dress codes.

In Afghanistan, women are forced to cover their face and entire body.

Sixteen months in, the Taliban have already banned teenage girls from entering secondary schools and excluded women from many public jobs. They are no longer allowed to go to parks, gyms and public baths.

Living in Afghanistan is like a prison for Marwa, who dreams of becoming a painter. “I don’t want to go to jail. I have big dreams that I want to achieve.”