<p>Taliban fighters beat women protesters and fired into the air on Saturday as they violently dispersed a rare rally in the Afghan capital, days ahead of the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists' return to power.</p>.<p>Since seizing power on August 15 last year, the Taliban have rolled back the marginal gains made by women during the two decades of US intervention in Afghanistan.</p>.<p>About 40 women -- chanting "Bread, work and freedom" -- marched in front of the education ministry building in Kabul, before the fighters dispersed them by firing their guns into the air, an AFP correspondent reported.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/women-desperate-to-work-in-taliban-ruled-afghanistan-1135733.html" target="_blank">Women desperate to work in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan</a></strong></p>.<p>Some women protesters who took refuge in nearby shops were chased and beaten by Taliban fighters with their rifle butts.</p>.<p>The protesters carried a banner which read "August 15 is a black day" as they demanded rights to work and political participation.</p>.<p>"Justice, justice. We're fed up with ignorance," chanted the protesters, many of them not wearing face veils, before they dispersed.</p>.<p>Some journalists covering the protest -- the first women's rally in months -- were also beaten by the Taliban fighters.</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 on long trips, and can only visit public gardens and parks in the capital on days separate from men.</p>.<p>In May, the country's supreme leader and chief of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, even ordered women to fully cover themselves in public, including their faces -- ideally with an all-encompassing burqa.</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>Taliban fighters beat women protesters and fired into the air on Saturday as they violently dispersed a rare rally in the Afghan capital, days ahead of the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists' return to power.</p>.<p>Since seizing power on August 15 last year, the Taliban have rolled back the marginal gains made by women during the two decades of US intervention in Afghanistan.</p>.<p>About 40 women -- chanting "Bread, work and freedom" -- marched in front of the education ministry building in Kabul, before the fighters dispersed them by firing their guns into the air, an AFP correspondent reported.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/women-desperate-to-work-in-taliban-ruled-afghanistan-1135733.html" target="_blank">Women desperate to work in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan</a></strong></p>.<p>Some women protesters who took refuge in nearby shops were chased and beaten by Taliban fighters with their rifle butts.</p>.<p>The protesters carried a banner which read "August 15 is a black day" as they demanded rights to work and political participation.</p>.<p>"Justice, justice. We're fed up with ignorance," chanted the protesters, many of them not wearing face veils, before they dispersed.</p>.<p>Some journalists covering the protest -- the first women's rally in months -- were also beaten by the Taliban fighters.</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 on long trips, and can only visit public gardens and parks in the capital on days separate from men.</p>.<p>In May, the country's supreme leader and chief of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, even ordered women to fully cover themselves in public, including their faces -- ideally with an all-encompassing burqa.</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>