Rally held in support of Malalai Joya in Jalalabad

Participants of the rally, carrying banners and placards and chanting slogans in favour of the female MP

Hundreds of people staged protest rally in eastern city of Jalalabad to support Malalai Joya. More photos

JALALABAD: Dozens of people, including women, Thursday staged a protest rally in this eastern city to support ousted female MP Malalai Joya and condemn those responsible for her expulsion from the Parliament.

Participants of the rally, carrying banners and placards and chanting slogans in favour of the female MP and against warlords, gathered at the Hospital Square.

They marched through the centre of the city to reach the office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

The protestors handed over a joint declaration, demanding restoration of the membership of the female MP, to the UNAMA officials.

Shabana, one of the protestors, termed the Lower House decision as illegal and unconstitutional.

"Joya is not only representative of the Farah people, she is representing women all across the country," said Shabana, who asked for immediate restoration of the legislator.

Another protestor Gul Makai said Joya's ouster from the Parliament was a conspiracy hatched by those accused of war crimes and human right violations.

"They (warlords) have hijacked the Wolesi Jirga and consider Joya's presence in the House in tussle with their interests," said the young protestor.

The participants later peacefully dispersed. On Thursday, a similar protest demo was staged in the western Farah province, the home province of the 29-year-old ousted female parliamentarian.

In a TV interview on May 21, Joya criticised the parliament for failing to accomplish enough for the Afghan people. In a video presented to the parliamentarians, Joya was shown as saying that "a stable or a zoo is better than the legislature, at least there you have a donkey that carries a load and a cow that provides milk. This parliament is worse than a stable or a zoo".

Later, a vote of no-trust was presented against her in the House on the ground that she had violated article 70 of the legislature's rules of procedure, which forbids lawmakers from criticising one another. Her specific crime was mentioned as "insulting the institution of parliament".

On Thursday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch also demanded reinstatement of Malalai Joya and asked the Parliament to ensure freedom of expression for the MP.

The HRW statement said that Joya had committed no crime by criticising her fellow MPs because the legislators are usually criticising each other.

It is still not clear whether her membership of the Parliament has been cancelled for the current session, which will last for a few weeks, or the rest of tenure of the existing Parliament, which will come to an end in 2009.

Movie clip of report by Ariana TV: