Afghan Women Stage Protest in Herat after Kabul Suicide Bombing
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Female students staged protest rallies in Herat, a city in western Afghanistan, against the deaths of numerous students in a suicide bombing at a Kabul learning center.
As they marched from the University of Herat to the provincial governor's office, the Herat University demonstrators filled the streets with their cries of "stop genocide" and "Education is our right."
Later, the Taliban prevented the group from entering the governor's office by stopping them and scattering them.
On Saturday, young women, including those who had survived the explosion, demonstrated in a comparable manner in Kabul..
The bombing took place at the Kaaj education center in Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood on Friday. The terrorist attack was carried out in the women's section of a gender-segregated study hall where hundreds of students were taking a mock entrance exam for university admission.
According to the UN, the attack killed at least 35 and wounded 82 people, the numbers of which are being said to be inconsistent. Most of the casualties were of young women belonging to the historically oppressed Shiite Hazara community.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility of the attack, however the Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) terrorist group has previously staged attacks in predominantly Shiite areas targeting girls, schools and mosques.
The Hazaras have long been subjects of persecution in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This has made the group as a prime security challenge for the Taliban government of Afghanistan.
