Hundreds Participate in Anti-Taliban Protests in Hamburg and Other Cities

Hundreds of Afghans participated in protests in Hamburg on Saturday. The Hamburg police confirmed that hundreds joined the demonstration. The action was in support of demonstrators in Herat. Chants of "Education, Work, Freedom" and "No to the Taliban" were prominent throughout the event. Protesters appealed to Western governments to discontinue engagement with the Taliban and to recognize gender apartheid as an issue.

Comparable protests were reported in a number of other cities around the world. These locations included Berlin, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Paris, Madrid, Helsinki, Toronto, Tehran, and Mashhad.

Farhad Darya addressed the participants in Hamburg. The singer stated that Afghan women are not alone. He added that the events relate to human pain, particularly that experienced by mothers and girls who are seeking freedom.

Specific demands emerged in certain cities. Protesters in Stuttgart called for the German government to halt diplomatic relations with the Taliban. In Toronto, the focus was on gaining Canadian support to criminalize gender apartheid in Afghanistan. In Mashhad, despite an application for a permit, police prevented the protest from occurring.