Dozens rally downtown to advocate for rights of women in Afghanistan

About 25 people rallied in downtown Toronto on Sunday to advocate for the rights of women in Afghanistan under the Taliban.

The demonstrators, who gathered in Yonge-Dundas Square, held placards that read "The Taliban have not changed" and "Co-operation with the Taliban is a crime against humanity."

According to the demonstrators, the Taliban regime is brutalizing women in Afghanistan.

Salma Hayat, an organizer, said the rally was intended to show solidarity with Afghan women and to urge the Canadian government not to recognize the Taliban. The federal government has said it has no plans to do so.

"We want to give a voice to the voiceless," Hayat said as the Afghanistan flag was wrapped around her.

"As much as they are trying to fight for their rights in Afghanistan, they are being silenced by the Taliban."

Hayat said the Taliban has promoted the idea to international media that "everything is good, but it's not." She said posters at the demonstration show women who have been kidnapped or killed in Afghanistan in the last couple of months. The Taliban's actions toward women are not being properly reported, she said.

"Especially with International Women's Day on Tuesday, we just want to make sure that their voices are heard."

Another organizer, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear for her family's safety, said women in Afghanistan are fighting for their basic rights. She said when the Taliban was last in power in the 1990s, it did not respect women's rights. When the Taliban took over last summer, it also promised to respect women's rights, but relatives there paint a different picture, she said.

"This time around, they are just smarter, they know how to fool the international media and other countries," she said. "Afghanistan is just a big jail right now."

The Canadian government has said it will not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan and has suspended diplomatic efforts.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Islamic Relief Canada, a charity, with the help of the the Imdadul Islamic Centre, a mosque in North York, assembled hygiene kits for Afghan refugee families in the GTA.

The kits include such item as hand soap, sanitary pads, toothbrushes, toothpaste, face wipes, soap, shampoo, conditioner and blankets.

"The last few months have been a difficult time for thousands of families who have left Afghanistan in fear of their safety," Reyhana Patel, spokesperson for Islamic Relief Canada, said in a news release.

"Most who have made it to Canada have arrived with very few possessions. By providing them with hygiene kits, we want to offer them some support and comfort in this challenging time of transition." 

The kits will be given to Polycultural Immigrant and Community Services, a registered charity that works in Toronto and Peel Region, to distribute to Afghan families.