But as their shouts became louder, Taliban fighters waded into the crowds to ask what the women wanted.<\/p>\n
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Social media footage then shows members of the special forces firing guns into the air to disperse crowds.<\/p>\n
One witness told Reuters that they also used tear gas and tasers to get the women to flee.<\/p>\n
A demonstrator who gave her name as Soraya claimed that the fighters “hit women on the head with a gun magazine” and “the women became bloody”.<\/p>\n
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One prominent protester, 20-year-old Maryam Naiby, defended her right to protest, saying: “We are here to gain human rights in Afghanistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “I love my country. I will always be here.”<\/p>\n She has previously run a women’s organisation and is a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Paralympic team.<\/p>\n Another, 24-year-old university student Farhat Popalzai, said she wanted to represent women too afraid to come out on the street.<\/p>\n “I am the voice of the women who are unable to speak,” she said. “They think this is a man’s country but it is not – it is a woman’s country, too.”<\/p>\n The Taliban has repeatedly promised to uphold women’s rights since seizing power last month.<\/p>\n But many Afghans and international observers are deeply sceptical, with reports of fighters already breaking their pledge.<\/p>\n In one example, a group of Islamists whitewashed murals on Saturday, including ones that promoted healthcare and praised foreign contributors.<\/p>\n They were replaced with slogans congratulating Afghanistan on the Taliban’s victory.<\/p>\n Its cultural commission spokesman, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, tweeted that the murals were painted over “because they are against our values”.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/21\/09\/768x432\/skynews-women-protest-afghanistan_5499475.jpg\")
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