Women gather to demand their rights under Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 3.

Women gather to demand their rights under Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 3. / AP

Day after day this month, Afghan women have taken to the streets in groups large and small to protest against Taliban rule, the regime's new curbs on their rights and Pakistan's influence in Afghanistan. "We want equal rights, we want women in government," women chanted in Kabul this week. Others shouted and held up signs for azadi, or freedom. Some women held signs with a question in English: "Why the world is watching us silently and cruelly?"

Protesters march in Kabul on Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced their all-male interim government. At left, a protester carries a sign with a photo showing Banu Negar, a pregnant police officer who was killed in front of her relatives early this week in Ghor province. Family members accuse the Taliban of carrying out the killing.

Protesters march in Kabul on Wednesday, a day after the Taliban announced their all-male interim government. At left, a protester carries a sign with a photo showing Banu Negar, a pregnant police officer who was killed in front of her relatives early this week in Ghor province. Family members accuse the Taliban of carrying out the killing. / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In response, the Taliban have at times used force — wielding whips, beating women with batons, pointing guns and firing weapons into the air.

There are no women in the Taliban's newly named interim cabinet, and the new rulers lost no time in abolishing the country's Ministry of Women's Affairs.

"What a woman does, she cannot do the work of a ministry. You put something on her neck that she cannot carry," a Taliban spokesman told Afghanistan's TOLOnews.

On the streets, ads showing women's faces have been blacked out, and Taliban members erased street art and murals that had often conveyed public service messages.

The protests have continued despite a Taliban ban on demonstrations without government permission. Also, the Taliban have so far detained more than a dozen journalists covering the protests, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Some Afghan journalists have been severely beaten.

Here are some scenes from protests this month.

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Taliban members try to stop the advance of protesters marching through Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood on Wednesday.

Taliban members try to stop the advance of protesters marching through Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood on Wednesday. / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Afghan women take part in a protest march for their rights under Taliban rule in Kabul on Sept. 3.

Afghan women take part in a protest march for their rights under Taliban rule in Kabul on Sept. 3. / AFP via Getty Images

Afghan women chant slogans in front of Taliban fighters during an anti-Pakistan demonstration near the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday. The Taliban fired shots into the air to disperse crowds.

Afghan women chant slogans in front of Taliban fighters during an anti-Pakistan demonstration near the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul on Tuesday. The Taliban fired shots into the air to disperse crowds. / AFP via Getty Images

A Taliban fighter stands guard as Afghan women take part in an anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul on Wednesday. At far right, a protester holds a sign with a photo of Banu Negar.

A Taliban fighter stands guard as Afghan women take part in an anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul on Wednesday. At far right, a protester holds a sign with a photo of Banu Negar. / AFP via Getty Images

Afghans march toward the presidential building in Kabul in a protest against Pakistan on Tuesday.

Afghans march toward the presidential building in Kabul in a protest against Pakistan on Tuesday. / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Tags: women's rights  Kabul  Afghan women  Afghanistan