Several dozen people gathered in downtown Montreal Friday evening to denounce the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
Speakers shed tears saying they felt betrayed by the government of the United States, which is withdrawing its military forces from Afghanistan.
A moment of silence was held for fallen soldiers who fought in the South Asian country.
But the biggest concern was for Afghan women and children who protesters say will be oppressed by the regime.
“They need freedom,” said Viktorya Jahesh of the Afghan Women’s Centre and one of the organizers.
“I was a child and I had a very happy life there. I want Afghanistan to come back to that time so people can be again happy.”
When the Taliban ruled 20 years ago, women were forbidden from attending school or work.
Reports show they were subject to rape and forced marriages by the Taliban.
They required women to wear burqas in public and refused to let women leave their homes without a male escort.
Seeking legitimacy, the Taliban said they would allow women to work.
But there are reports that restrictions are once again being imposed on women and girls.
People at the protest said it’s urgent governments negotiate with the regime in order to guarantee women’s rights.
“Women must have the right to be elected in parliament,” said Sarah Arshadi, an Iranian-Montrealer attending the protest.
Quebec Premier François Legault said the province will take in a certain number of Afghan refugees as citizens.
The federal government has set up a program to help resettle 20,000 vulnerable Afghans.
–With files from Global’s Kalina Laframboise