WASHINGTON: Four women activists in Afghanistan have been released by the country's "de facto authorities" after going missing weeks ago, the United Nations said Sunday. Since storming back to power in August, the Taliban have cracked down on dissent by forcefully dispersing women's rallies, detaining critics, and often beating local journalists covering unsanctioned protests. Tamana Zaryabi Paryani, Parwana Ibrahimkhel, Zahra Mohammadi, and Mursal Ayar went missing after participating in an anti-Taliban rally, but Afghanistan's new rulers -- whose government is still not recognized by any country -- had consistently denied detaining them. "After a long period of uncertainty about their whereabouts and safety, the four 'disappeared' Afghan women activists, as well as their relatives who also went missing, have all been released by the de facto authorities," the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Twitter. AFP reported the release of Ibrahimkhel on Friday. She went missing along with Paryani on January 19, days after taking part in a rally in Kabul calling for women's right to work and education. Weeks later, Mohammadi and Ayar went missing. Some relatives of the four women protesters had also gone missing. Shortly before she disappeared, footage of Paryani was shared on social media showing her in distress, warning of Taliban fighters at her door. In the video, Paryani calls out: "Kindly help! Taliban have come to our home in Parwan 2. My sisters are at home." It shows her telling the men behind the door: "If you want to talk, we'll talk tomorrow. I cannot meet you in the night with these girls. I don't want to (open the door)... Please! help, help!"
