A group of women held a rally in Kabul on Tuesday morning to protest the expulsion of nearly 40 female students from Kabul University.
These girls were expelled from the university last week by the Taliban for posting the news about female students who were food poisoned in a women’s hostel at Kabul University on Oct. 2.
Almost 70 students at the women’s hostel at Kabul University became sick with diarrhea and stomach pains in a food poisoning incident after having dinner on Sunday night.
The incident happened after women’s protests in Kabul against the deadly attack at the Kaaj tutoring center in the west of the city in which at least 50 students were killed.
Sources said that most of the female students expelled are Hazaras.
Women’s rights activists Zhulia Parsi and Laila Basim who organized the rally claimed that their rally was suppressed by the Taliban and they faced “mistreatment” by the group.
“The rally was held in response to the Taliban’s cruel act of expelling more than 40 female students from Kabul University, and we condemn this cruel act,” said Tarannum Saeedi, an activist.
“Although the Taliban tried to keep the issue of poisoning of girls hidden, it did not succeed. Now these girls, who are considered to be the cause of media coverage of the issue, have been expelled from the university,” she added.
“The Taliban are the enemy of wisdom; therefore, they have always tried to prevent students from reaching their goals,” said Mahjuba Habibi, an activist.
The rally members said education for women is a red line for them, asking the international community to “never recognize the Taliban.”
The activists said that they would continue their protest unless their demand for bringing back the students was met.
