Afghan women protest, say haven't been allowed to work by Taliban

Afghan women working in government and non-government organisations have said the Taliban will have to take them into account as the hardline Islamist group discuss the formation of a new regime in the country. Several women, including human rights activists, have said they have worked hard for their rights over the past two decades and cannot go back.

Taliban leaders made assurances that women would enjoy equal rights in accordance with Islam, including access to education and jobs. In the first press conference on Tuesday since capturing Kabul, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said women would have rights to education, health and employment and that they would be "happy" within the framework of Sharia.

Another journalist Khadija also said she was not allowed by the Taliban to enter her office. Khadija said that the Taliban told them that a decision will be made soon about their work. "We talked with our new director who has been appointed by the Taliban… There has been a change in the programmes. They broadcast their desired programs, there are no female presenters and female journalists," Khadija said, acording to sources.

Several women have said they fear the Taliban will reinforce their strict interpretation of Sharia and would not allow them to work and stop girls from attending school. The Taliban during their first regime in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 brutally enforced their diktats and women were beaten up publicly by the group's religious police if they did not cover their face and stepped out of their homes without being accompanied by a male relative.

Several reports have said that Taliban fighters walked into a commercial bank branch in Kandahar in July and ordered nine women working there. They were asked to leave because their jobs were deemed inappropriate and were allowed to be replaced by male relatives, according to Reuters.