The Taliban issued a fresh directive on weddings and engagement parties in Afghanistan this week, barring women from wearing make-up, hair extensions and perfume and saying the exchange of rings is a Western import forbidden under Islamic law. The country’s de-facto rulers issued the directive...
Read moreDetails
One spring day Mah Bibi’s three youngest sons were playing with an unusual object they had found in the ground when it exploded, killing them outright along with three friends.
Read moreDetailsAs the world marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women this week, I spoke with the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett about the dire situation facing women and girls.
This week, an Afghan teacher got in touch with a message. She had written a short essay about the suppression of girls’ education in Afghanistan and the hypocrisy of those behind it. She wanted us to share it with you, our readers, “not for pity, but for awareness, outrage, and change”. It is a powerful piece of writing that, as...
When Afghanistan lost all internet access last Monday, Rukhshana Media reporter Hania Forootan* ventured out to check on friends and see how people were being affected. What she saw in the streets of Kabul filled her with anxiety.
Every morning at first light, Manizha* picks up her medicine bag and heads out to villages in rural Afghanistan where, if it weren’t for her and her team, most women would not see a doctor from one year to the next.
One spring day Mah Bibi’s three youngest sons were playing with an unusual object they had found in the ground when it exploded, killing them outright along with three friends.
The family of an Afghan teenager jailed by the Taliban for five years after refusing to marry an influential tribal figure in his 70s have appealed to the group’s supreme leader for help to secure her release.
