Afghan Women Protesters: Nowruz Message Clashes With Taliban’s Repression

On the eve of the Nowruz festival, the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement issued a statement calling for an end to the oppression of women and urging increased international pressure on the Taliban.

Members of the movement described the current situation as being in stark contrast to the “message of Nowruz,” stating, “For Afghan women, a winter of oppression and darkness continues.” The statement added that the “true spring” for Afghan women will come with the restoration of their rights to education, work, and freedom of life.

The Freedom Lantern Movement also appealed to the international community to take concrete action against the Taliban’s repressive policies and, at the same time, to refrain from recognizing their rule in Afghanistan. In this regard, the movement called for Taliban officials to be prosecuted in international courts.

Nowruz, which coincides with the start of the new year in the solar (Jalali) calendar, is traditionally celebrated with outings, family visits, and the preparation of the “Haft-Seen” table. Historically, women have been central to this celebration, carrying out many of its customs.

Every year, thousands of men and women used to gather at the shrine attributed to Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif to witness the raising of the Jahenda (holy banner). Women would also visit lush green fields and enjoy picnics to mark the arrival of spring. However, Taliban restrictions on women’s mobility have effectively deprived them of the ability to celebrate this historic and cultural occasion.

In response to these actions by the Taliban, women-led movements such as the Afghan Women’s Freedom Lantern Movement are now marking the holiday in more limited ways while using the opportunity to condemn the group’s “repressive” policies.