アフガン女性らが異例のデモ　タリバンに権利尊重求め

【ヘラートＡＦＰ＝時事】アフガニスタン西部ヘラートで２日、女性たちが異例の街頭デモを行い、イスラム主義組織タリバンの支配下でも娘たちが学校に通えるならば、全身を覆う衣服「ブルカ」の着用を受け入れると訴えた。（写真はアフガニスタン・ヘラートで女性たちが行った、女子教育や女性の就労を求めるデモ）
　デモには約５０人の女性が参加。プラカードを掲げ、「教育、就業、安全は私たちの権利」とシュプレヒコールをあげた。
　２００１年に米主導の軍事作戦によって崩壊した第１次タリバン政権では、女性は教育と就業がほとんど認められていなかった。女性は公共の場でのブルカ着用を義務付けられ、男性の付き添いなしでの外出も禁止され、街頭デモの実施はとうてい考えられないものだった。
　デモに参加した写真家・アーティストの女性はＡＦＰの電話取材に対し、「私たちは、自分たちの権利のために集まっている」と説明。「そうしろと言われれば、ブルカを着用する覚悟もあるが、私たちは女性が学校や仕事に行けることを望んでいる」と語った。
　イランとの国境に近く、かつてのシルクロード沿いにあるヘラートは、すでにブルカを着用している女性も見られるものの、比較的保守的な他の大都市とは違い、長年にわたり国際色がある都市となっていた。
　デモ主催者の一人であるバシラ・タヘリさんは、「政府樹立に向けた協議が行われているが、女性の参加については協議されていない」と指摘。「私たちも政府に参加したい。女性なしで政府は樹立できない。タリバンには、私たちとの協議の場を持ってほしい」と訴えた。
　タヘリさんによると、ヘラートではタリバン支配への恐怖と不安から「働く女性の大半が自宅にいる」という。別のデモ参加者の女性は、「意を決して職場に戻った医師や看護師といった女性たちの中には、タリバンからばかにされていると訴える人もいる」と説明。「タリバンは彼女たちに視線を向けたり、話しかけたりしない。怒った顔を見せるだけだ」と語った。
　小学校の授業はすでに再開しており、男女を問わず児童らは学校に戻っている。ただ、中学以上の教育については新政府の発足後まで保留されるとタリバンはしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/09/03-13:41）

Defiant Afghan women held a rare protest Thursday saying they were willing to accept the burqa if their daughters could still go to school under Taliban rule.
It is our right to have education, work and security, the group of around 50 female demonstrators chanted, waving placards on the streets of Afghanistan's western city of Herat.
During the Taliban's first stint in power, before being ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001, women and girls were mostly denied education and employment.
Burqas became mandatory in public, women could not leave home without a male companion, and street protests were unthinkable.
We are here to ask for our rights, Fereshta Taheri, one of the demonstrators, told AFP by phone.
We are even ready to wear burqas if they tell us, but we want the women to go to school and work, the photographer and artist added.
Herat, an ancient Silk Road city close to the Iranian border, has long been a cosmopolitan exception to more conservative centres, though some women already wear the burqa.
- 'Fear and uncertainty' -
The Taliban, who seized power last month after a lightning military campaign, are in discussions about the make-up of a new government.
They have pledged their leadership will be inclusive, but many doubt women will find a place in Afghanistan's new administration.
We follow the news, and we don't see any women in Taliban meetings and gatherings, said Herat protester Mariam Ebram.
The group have now promised a softer brand of rule, pledging that women will be allowed to work but within the limits of Sharia law.
The rebranding is being treated with scepticism, with experts questioning whether it will be a short-term bid to seek international recognition and a continuation of vital aid.
The talks are ongoing to form a government, but they are not talking about women's participation, Basira Taheri, one of the rally's organisers said.
We want to be part of the government -- no government can be formed without women. We want the Taliban to hold consultations with us.
She described how most of the working women in Herat are at home, out of fear and uncertainty.
Ebram said that those who had returned faced resistance from the new Taliban forces in control.
Some women, like doctors and nurses who dared to go back to work, complain that the Taliban mock them, Ebram said.
The Taliban don't look at them, they don't talk to them. They only show their angry faces to them.
Primary school age children including girls have returned to school, but the Taliban says further education is on hold until after the formation of a government.
- 'Different aspirations' -
Protests against Taliban rule were inconceivable during their last reign.
Former government minister Nehan Nargis, speaking to the BBC late Wednesday from Norway where she fled to last month, said Afghanistan had changed from when the Taliban were last in power.
People are much more aware, they have different aspirations for Afghanistan now, and expectations from government, she said, noting social media now helped bring like-minded activists together.
The Afghan people... have collectively raised their voice very strongly using the platform of social media for their issues and causes... and they will continue to use that, Nargis said.
Basira Taheri said they would continue to protest until their demands were met.
The women of this land are informed and educated, she said. We are not afraid, we are united.
Herat's demonstrators said they hoped their example would inspire others across the country.
We will continue our protests, Basira Taheri said. We started it in Herat, it will soon expand to other provinces.