Taliban fire into air to disperse women’s rally backing Iran protests

KABUL: Taliban forces on Thursday used gunfire to disperse a women’s rally in the Afghan capital in support of protests in Iran over the death of a woman in morality police custody. Neighbours Afghanistan and Iran are both run by hardline Islamist governments that use religious police to enforce strict dress codes on women.

Dozens of people have been killed in demonstrations that have erupted over 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death in Tehran after she was arrested for allegedly breaching rules on hijabs and modest clothing. Chanting the same "Women, life, freedom" mantra used in Iran, about 25 women protested in front of Kabul’s Iranian embassy before Taliban forces fired into the air, an AFP correspondent reported.