Marconja Zor – The grio
The incident took place the same day the Taliban claimed they would honor the rights of women
The Taliban reportedly shot and killed a woman in Afghanistan on Tuesday for not wearing a burqa.
This incident took place on the same day Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, held a televised press conference with an Afghan female journalist, vowing that women’s rights would be honored and they would be able to continue their studies and work, Fox News reported. A change in the way of governance from their rule 20 years ago was promised.
The gruesome photo, that is now circulating on social media, shows a woman lying in a pool of blood as loved ones crouched down surrounding her. Another woman is seen touching the victim’s face in a caring manner as she bleeds out.
A burqa is a loose-fitting full-body garment that includes a veil with a mesh opening for the eyes. It is most commonly worn in Afghanistan and Pakistan by women.
According to Fox News, an Afghan and former State Department contractor confirmed that checkpoints throughout Kabul have been set up by the Taliban, and some civilians were even beaten during their attempts to flee the country from the airport.
“There were kids, women, babies, old women, they could barely walk,” he said. “They [are in a] very, very bad situation, I’m telling you. At the end, I was thinking that there was like 10,000 or more than 10,000 people, and they’re running into the airport … The Taliban [were] beating people and the people were jumping from the fence, the concertina wire, and also the wall,” he said.
The Taliban encircled and then entered the Afghan capital on Sunday causing chaos and panic, theGrio previously reported. President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fled the country, and U.S. military hurried to evacuate civilians and diplomats.
The sudden seizure of power caused an eruption of panic at Kabul’s international airport on Monday. Dozens of people attempted to force their way onto a plane, leaving the city in hopes of fleeing the country. Many could be seen on video swarming the sides of a plane as it was in motion.
The Taliban, a group made up of former Afghan resistance fighters, fought the invading Soviet forces in the 1980s. In 1996, Kabul was captured by the Taliban, leading to strict rules being implemented. These rules were geared more harshly toward women, according to some authorities. Rules included women being forbidden to work or pursue their education, and required to be fully covered from head-to-toe.
Rep. Barbara Lee was the lone U.S. congressperson to vote against the authorization that allowed then-President George Bush to invade Afghanistan with the use of military force in 2001. She recently took to Twitter to speak out against the unfolding scenes.
“What’s happening is Afghanistan currently is a humanitarian crisis,” Rep. Lee said. “Let’s be clear: there has never been, and will never be a U.S. military solution in Afghanistan. Our top priority must be providing humanitarian aid & resettlement to Afghan refugees, women, and children.”
According to the United Nations News, 80 percent of nearly 250,0000 Afghans that were forced to flee their homes since the end of May are women and children.
