Afghan women protest Hazara 'genocide' after Kabul bombing

Afghan women protest Hazara 'genocide' after Kabul bombing

Dozens of women from Afghanistan's minority Hazara community protested in the capital after a suicide bombing a day earlier killed 20 people
Dozens of women from Afghanistan's minority Hazara community protested in the capital after a suicide bombing a day earlier killed 20 people. Photo: - / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Dozens of women from Afghanistan's minority Hazara community protested in the capital Saturday after a suicide bombing a day earlier killed 20 people -- mostly young women from the ethnic group.

A bomber blew himself up on Friday at a Kabul study hall as hundreds of pupils were taking tests in preparation for university entrance exams in the city's Dasht-e-Barchi area.

The western neighbourhood is a predominantly Shiite Muslim enclave and home to the minority Hazara community -- a historically oppressed group that has been targeted in some of Afghanistan's most brutal attacks in recent years.

Police said at least 20 people were killed but the United Nations has put the number at 24.

On Saturday about 50 women chanted, "Stop Hazara genocide, it's not a crime to be a Shiite", as they marched past a hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi where several victims of the attack were being treated.

Read also

Iran protests over Mahsa Amini death enter third week

Dressed in black hijabs and headscarves, angry protesters carried banners that read: "Stop killing Hazaras", an AFP correspondent reported.

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see YEN.com.gh News on your News Feed!

Witnesses have told AFP that the suicide attacker detonated in the women's section of the gender-segregated hall.

"Yesterday's attack was against the Hazaras and Hazara girls," protester Farzana Ahmadi, 19, told AFP.

"We demand a stop to this genocide. We staged the protest to demand our rights."

Protesters later gathered in front of the hospital and chanted slogans as dozens of heavily armed Taliban, some carrying rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, kept watch.

Since the hardline Taliban returned to power last August, women's protests have become risky, with numerous demonstrators detained and rallies broken up by Taliban forces firing shots in the air.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack at the Kaaj Higher Educational Centre.

Read also

Suicide blast kills 19 at education centre in Afghan capital

But the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group regards Shiites as heretics and has previously claimed attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.

The Taliban also regard the Hazara community as heathens, and rights groups often accused the Islamists of targeting them during their 20-year insurgency against the former US-backed government.

Since returning to office the Taliban have pledged to protect minorities and clamp down on security threats.

However, rights group Amnesty International said Friday's attack was "a shamefaced reminder of the inaptitude and utter failure of the Taliban, as de-facto authorities, to protect the people of Afghanistan".

In May last year, before the Taliban's return to power, at least 85 people -- mainly girls -- were killed and about 300 were wounded when three bombs exploded near their school in Dasht-e-Barchi.

No group again claimed responsibility, but a year earlier IS claimed a suicide attack on an educational centre in the same area that killed 24.

Read also

Iran targets celebrities, media over Mahsa Amini protests

IS has emerged as a key security challenge for the Taliban, but officials claim their forces have defeated the jihadists.

New feature: Сheck out news that is picked for YOU ➡️ find “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.