<p>About two dozen Afghan women chanting "bread, work, freedom" protested in the capital on Sunday against the Taliban's harsh restrictions on their rights.</p>.<p>Since seizing power in August, the Taliban have rolled back the marginal gains made by women during the two decades of US intervention in Afghanistan.</p>.<p>"Education is my right! Reopen schools!" chanted the protesters, many of them wearing face-covering veils, as they gathered in front of the ministry of education.</p>.<p>Demonstrators marched for a few hundred metres before ending the rally as authorities deployed Taliban fighters in plain clothes, an AFP correspondent reported.</p>.<p>"We wanted to read out a declaration but the Taliban didn't allow it," said protester Zholia Parsi.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/afghan-women-tv-presenters-cover-faces-on-air-a-day-after-defying-taliban-order-1111437.html" target="_blank">Afghan women TV presenters cover faces on air a day after defying Taliban order </a></strong></p>.<p>"They took the mobile phones of some girls and also prevented us from taking photos or videos of our protest."</p>.<p>After seizing power, the Taliban had promised a softer version of the harsh Islamist rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.</p>.<p>But many restrictions have already been imposed.</p>.<p>Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of secondary schools, while women have been barred from returning to many government jobs.</p>.<p>Women have also been banned from travelling alone and can only visit public gardens and parks in the capital on days separate from men.</p>.<p>This month, the country's supreme leader and Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada said women should generally stay at home.</p>.<p>They were ordered to conceal themselves completely, including their faces, should they need to go out in public.</p>.<p>The decree, which triggered international outrage, carried echoes of the Taliban's first reign, when they made the all-covering burqa mandatory for women.</p>.<p>The Taliban have also banned protests calling for women's rights and dismissed calls by the United Nations to reverse their restrictions.</p>.<p>Some Afghan women initially pushed back against the curbs, holding small protests.</p>.<p>But the Taliban soon rounded up the ringleaders, holding them incommunicado while denying they had been detained.</p>
<p>About two dozen Afghan women chanting "bread, work, freedom" protested in the capital on Sunday against the Taliban's harsh restrictions on their rights.</p>.<p>Since seizing power in August, the Taliban have rolled back the marginal gains made by women during the two decades of US intervention in Afghanistan.</p>.<p>"Education is my right! Reopen schools!" chanted the protesters, many of them wearing face-covering veils, as they gathered in front of the ministry of education.</p>.<p>Demonstrators marched for a few hundred metres before ending the rally as authorities deployed Taliban fighters in plain clothes, an AFP correspondent reported.</p>.<p>"We wanted to read out a declaration but the Taliban didn't allow it," said protester Zholia Parsi.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/afghan-women-tv-presenters-cover-faces-on-air-a-day-after-defying-taliban-order-1111437.html" target="_blank">Afghan women TV presenters cover faces on air a day after defying Taliban order </a></strong></p>.<p>"They took the mobile phones of some girls and also prevented us from taking photos or videos of our protest."</p>.<p>After seizing power, the Taliban had promised a softer version of the harsh Islamist rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.</p>.<p>But many restrictions have already been imposed.</p>.<p>Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of secondary schools, while women have been barred from returning to many government jobs.</p>.<p>Women have also been banned from travelling alone and can only visit public gardens and parks in the capital on days separate from men.</p>.<p>This month, the country's supreme leader and Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada said women should generally stay at home.</p>.<p>They were ordered to conceal themselves completely, including their faces, should they need to go out in public.</p>.<p>The decree, which triggered international outrage, carried echoes of the Taliban's first reign, when they made the all-covering burqa mandatory for women.</p>.<p>The Taliban have also banned protests calling for women's rights and dismissed calls by the United Nations to reverse their restrictions.</p>.<p>Some Afghan women initially pushed back against the curbs, holding small protests.</p>.<p>But the Taliban soon rounded up the ringleaders, holding them incommunicado while denying they had been detained.</p>