April 15, 2009
Nearly 200 women began a march in front of a conservative Shia Muslim university in Kabu, Afghanistan,l that had supported the “Shia Personal Status Law,” which placed strict religious restrictions on women. As the women began to march along the road and chant slogans, nearly 1,000 supporters of the law gathered and began to throw stones at the women. Policewomen who were present joined arms and formed a barrier around the protesting women in an effort to protect them from the stone-throwers, keeping their backs to the counter-protesters. The police walked with the group of protesters as they continued their march. The women’s rights protesters continued their campaign through July.
