The cost of defiance is measured in blood for Afghan women. Two protesters, both women, were shot dead by Taliban security forces during a rare demonstration in Kabul. The protest, one of the largest since the Taliban’s takeover, demanded equal access to work and education.
Witnesses said the security forces opened fire without warning. The Foreign Office has issued a strong condemnation, calling the killings a 'brutal act of repression' and demanding that the Taliban 'immediately ensure the protection of fundamental rights' for women in Afghanistan. But for the families of the dead, words come too late.
They join a tally of silenced voices in a country where the kitchen table has become a battleground. The British government must now back its diplomatic protests with action. That means not just demanding accountability but using every lever of power, from sanctioning individuals to freezing assets, to show that the price of repression will rise.
The women of Afghanistan cannot afford more empty promises.
