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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Sean McPolin

Taliban shown smiling with guns on pedalos as they celebrate Afghan takeover anniversary

Members of the Taliban have been pictured smiling and laughing on pedalos while waving guns, a year on from taking control of Afghanistan.

Soldiers and their families were pictured on one of the lakes in Band-e-Amir national park celebrating and enjoying the sun.

The lakes are a popular weekend destination in the country and they decided to visit almost a year to the day they seized control of the country while some members gathered in the capital for a rally.

Multiple people were snapped riding the boats over the crystal blue waters, with their semi-automatic rifles around their neck, or on their phones.

Others were smiling and chatting at the lake, described by some as Afghanistan's Grand Canyon, while some decided to test the temperature of the waters in the blistering 40C heat.

The fighters were seen posing with guns and smiling (Getty Images)

On Saturday, August 13, a rally gathered before the one year anniversary of the hardline Islamists' take over, which saw around 40 women march in front of the education ministry building in Kabul.

The rights of women in the country have regressed, after improving since the United States intervention, since the Taliban took control last year, the MailOnline reports.

They were chanting "bread, work and freedom' and carried a banner which read" and "August 15 is a black day" before being dispersed by Taliban fighters who shot guns into the air.

Taliban fighters celebrated a year of controlling Afghanistan (Getty Images)

Some reports have claimed protesters were chased and beaten by fighters after they demanded rights to work and political participation.

They allegedly took refuge in nearby shops but were found.

Zholia Parsi, one of the organisers, explained Taliban fighters tore banners which read "Justice, justice. We're fed up with ignorance", and took phones from women at the event.

Taliban fighters took the lake with their families (Getty Images)
The hardline Islamists' were pictured smiling and chatting at one of the lakes in Bland-e-Amir (Getty Images)

She said: "Unfortunately, the Taliban from the intelligence service came and fired in the air.

"They dispersed the girls, tore our banners and confiscated the mobile phones of many girls."

Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of secondary schools, and women have been barred from returning to many Government jobs.

People protested in Kabul on the same day about the regression of women's rights (Getty Images)
Protesters were allegedly chased and beaten by the Taliban (AFP via Getty Images)
Women protested against the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan (AFP via Getty Images)

Women have also been banned from travelling alone on long trips and are only permitted to visit public gardens and parks in the capital on days separate from men.

Earlier this year, the country's supreme leader and chief of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, ordered that women should fully cover themselves in public, including their faces.

While at the rally some chose not to wear veils.

The United Nations and rights groups have repeatedly slammed the Taliban government for imposing the restrictions.

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