Afghan women in Kabul protested ahead of next week's UN summit to urge foreign countries not to officially recognize the Taliban government, Alarabiya News reported..

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, protesters who spoke out against the creeping curtailment of women's rights have been beaten or detained, and security forces have fired shots into the air in dispersing some gatherings..

However, small groups of women continued to hold rallies from time to time..

On Saturday, about 25 people marched through a residential area of \u200b\u200bthe Afghan capital on the eve of the Doha summit, which the UN says will discuss the "

"

The participants also chanted the slogans “Afghans, hostages of the Taliban” and “We will fight, we will die, we will take back our rights”.

No nation has yet recognized a government as legitimate since the Taliban returned to power following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021..

Diplomats, NGOs and aid agencies are deeply divided on this issue..

Some believe that the international community can convince the Taliban to lift restrictions on women's rights by giving up the prospect of recognition.

Others argue that even discussing the issue gives the Taliban a certain amount of legitimacy while they are pushing women out of public life..

Last week, UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the envoys could discuss “initial steps” towards recognition at their meeting in Doha starting Monday, albeit with reservations..

“The Taliban clearly want recognition. and this is the leverage that we have,” Mohammed stressed..

UN announces Afghan 'de facto authority' not invited to Doha conference.

In early April, the UN asked about 3,300 of its Afghan staff not to report to work for the next two days after the Taliban announced they were banning Afghan women from working for the world organization..

[see_also ids\u003d"

After toppling the Western-backed government in Kabul, the Taliban stepped up controls on women's access to public life, including banning women from universities and closing most high schools for girls.. In December, the Taliban authorities banned most of the aid workers from working, which the aid workers say has made it harder to reach women in need and could lead to donors withholding funding..