A number of students from Afghanistan, pursuing various courses in Andhra University, staged a protest near the university main gate against the Taliban takeover of their country, on Thursday.
Holding the Afghanistan national flag and placards reading ‘Afghanistan Deserves Freedom’, the students sought that all countries of the world raise their voice against the Taliban, and support the people of Afghanistan who were under tremendous suffering for the last several weeks. They also raised slogans that the rights of women in Afghanistan matter, and demanded that Pakistan withdraw their support to the Taliban.
A student from Afghanistan said that their country was bleeding after being taken over by the Taliban.
“Every day, the Taliban is killing innocent civilians. Today, as the younger generation from Afghanistan, we are trying to raise our voice against the Taliban in support of civilians living in Afghanistan,” said the protester, who did not want to be named.
The students demanded that the United Nations (UN) should not legitimise the Taliban. The UN along with other countries should support the people of Afghanistan, they said.
“We know about the Taliban, how they are against the basic freedoms of people and the rights of women. They have destroyed schools and universities, and are torturing people, and not allowing women to go to work. They are claiming that women are free to work, but we do not believe them. Their atrocities are continuing as before,” said a girl student who participated in the protest.
The students also said that they would support the anti-Taliban movement from Panjshir valley and urged all nations to support the movement and unseat Taliban from power.
“Our message is very clear. It is about protecting our right to freedom and human rights. The Taliban have taken our beloved country by force and this is not acceptable to the people of Afghanistan. If they continue to hold on, the future of Afghan students and women will be at stake,” another student said.