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
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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