Balkh Storyhouse continues rich tradition of motivating young writers despite bans on girls’ education and travel restrictions
Every Monday evening they would gather, in summer when the scorching Balkh sun was less intense and in winter when...
Reports
Women face harassment and denigration from male shopkeepers when buying essential feminine products in Ghazni
Shamsia Abdullahi* used to own a shop selling women’s items in Ghazni city before the collapse of the previous government...
They were once defenders of human rights, and now they have no one to defend them: the lawyers who fled the Taliban’s Afghanistan
After a career dedicated to protecting vulnerable women in Afghanistan, former defense lawyer Fayeza Mansoori is struggling as a refugee...
Long waits for pain relief and medical care as Herat health system struggles to cope with earthquake victims
Shamail lies in a hospital bed. Her body is covered in injuries. She is not able to speak for the...
Multiple villages flattened by series of earthquakes in Afghanistan
A desperate search for survivors is under way after a series of earthquakes has killed and injured more than 2,000...
One year on: Survivors recall the Kaaj suicide bombing on students preparing for university
We would sit a mock exam every Friday to prepare for the university entrance exam. Like any other Friday, we...
‘Selling my books is like selling my dreams’: A Balkh schoolgirl’s desperate decision between hope and poverty as schools remain closed
Two teenage girls dressed in all-black hijabs with black face masks are carrying heavy plastic bags stuffed with books. They...
Taliban harass Balkh beauticians at home since ban on beauty salons
Shaifqa was sitting with guests at her home in Balkh province when armed Taliban members raided her house, forcing their...
Women in Kandahar living as though under house arrest with bans on recreation
It was meant to be family day together outside the house. Marwa and her husband had taken their two-year-old son...
Fatima rebels against Taliban ideology by succeeding in a ‘man’s job’
Fatima Iltaf is determined to make it as a money transfer agent, not only for her livelihood, but also to...
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