Kabul women step out of homes, protest for their rights on streets in burqas

On Tuesday, a bunch of Afghan women left the comfort of their homes and appeared on Kabul roads, clad in burqas, shoulder purses in tow.

However, they weren't just out there, like most men and children, trying to catch a glimpse of the new ways of Taliban but they were there to speak up for themselves, stand for their rights.

A former journalist with Afghanistan's Tolo News, now working with a German media outlet took to her Twitter to express her joy and wrote, Afghan women are on the roads of Kabul... bravo".

The Kabul women who can be seen covered from head to toe, but faces open (unlike the infamous shuttlecock burqa that covers the face too), held sheets of paper above their head reading - 'There are Afghan women'. They shouted slogans that voiced their concerns.

Another correspondent with an international news agency, retweeted the original tweet, this time with the verbal message which translated, "We want our rights, we want social security, no ban on work, the right to education and the right to political participation. No force can ignore and stifle women. All our achievements over the years should not be compromised and our basic rights!"

Hanif Jazayeri, news editor and Secretary of London-based NGO Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) tweeted an unedited version of the video which gives a closer look at the protest and the messages carried by the women.

This was allegedly the first all-women demonstration in Kabul since the re-emergence of the Taliban rulers in the country. A few of these women (just four) could be later seen at a different location observing a quieter protest at the side of the road under the watch of the Taliban military.

American human rights activist Lean McElrath, moved by their act, called it one requiring "indescribable courage". The video shared by her shows the women being stared at by men all around the streets as they stand with the sheets held over their heads.

Kabul different from villages, towns

While some called this video staged to depict a more liberal side of the Taliban and lamented that scenes in the city of Kabul are very different from what's happening in other smaller towns and villages of the country, others praised the bravery of these women who dared to step out and voice their concerns.

A user reacting to the video shared his views on the microblogging site, "That's not courage. This is the new Taliban with marketing and PR strategy. They have also learnt the power of social media and mainstream media coverage. Keep watching, they will soon sit next to other top bosses."