History was made in Kabul today when the first-ever public action against street harassment occurred.

An hour ago, Noorjahan Akbar, one of the organizers, wrote on her Facebook Wall:

“Today was so wonderful! Thanks to over fifty men and women and over fifteen media members who walked with us and the police that provided us with so much support in every step of the campaign. I am so moved and proud of being such a movement. Bravo Young Women for Change and Hadia-“

Congratulations to Akbar and the other organizers and participants! Way to share your voices and views and take action! I’ll be interviewing Akbar and another woman who participated later, so check back for more info.

For background, here’s why the young women decided to organize their action:

“The main reason we are holding this campaign is that despite the fact that women’s harassment is a serious problem that discourages many women from active participation in the society, it is not recognized as a problem. Women often remain silent when they are harassed and men believe it is normal to assault women, just like drinking water.

Harassment of women has gotten worse in the last couple of years as more women have started going out of their houses for schooling or jobs. However, that is not the only reason harassment has increased. Governmental regulations to restrict women’s behavior and clothing, for example the proposed wedding law that requires women to dress “modestly’ in weddings, encourages the people who think like the Taliban and believe women should remain in their homes to harass women as they exit their houses and use women’s “inappropraite” clothing as an excuse.

Through our campaign, we hope that sexual harassment will be recognized as a problem, discussed in the Afghan media and men, rather than the victims who are women, will be held responsible for their disrespectful behavior.”

For more on the march and street harassment in Afghanistan, see Akbar’s article for Al Jazeera and her interview for UN Dispatch.