A group of women and human rights activists in Ireland held a protest outside the country’s parliament in support of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. The group Afghan Women Ireland said on its Facebook page that the demonstration took place on Thursday June 25 to call for the restoration of the fundamental rights of Afghan women and girls. In a statement, the group said the protesters represented the voices of millions of women and girls in Afghanistan who, under Taliban rule, have been deprived of their most basic human rights, including the rights to education, work, freedom and safe participation in society. The protesters called on Afghanistan’s rulers to end the harassment and abuse of women and to prevent forced marriages and child marriages. The gathering also called for an end to what was described as “gender apartheid” and demanded dignity, security, justice and equality for all women and girls in Afghanistan. The Afghan women and women’s rights activists urged the international community not to remain silent in the face of what they described as the systematic violation of women’s rights in Afghanistan and to take effective measures to support those rights.
