International
Afghan women call for respect in rare protest
AFP
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.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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