“With books and imagination”: The young Afghan women finding consolation in literature
Four young women sit together, waiting for the phone to ring. When the call finally comes through, their friend’s voice...
Reports
How the Taliban’s new criminal code penalises women
A husband who beats his wife severely could get off with just a 15-day sentence, while a woman who leaves...
How the closure of the Pakistan border is hitting ordinary Afghans
When the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan closed amid escalating tensions between the two neighbours, Somaya Nadari’s mother lost access...
Afghanistan’s maternal health services are collapsing. Here’s how one rural province is being affected
Ziba Balkhi When Medina’s sister went into labour in November, her family took her to the main provincial hospital in...
“I Felt Suffocated for Hours”: An Artistic Protest Against the Taliban’s Mandatory Hijab
Appearing on stage at the opening of his exhibition wearing a burqa, he declared: “Wherever a woman’s body is controlled,...
From teacher to street vendor: How Taliban policies turned one Afghan woman’s life upside-down
By Ziba Balkhi Abeda worked as a teacher in Afghanistan’s Balkh province for more than a decade before the Taliban...
“You should go back home”: Taliban bar women from sacred Afghan shrine
The shrine, a large complex containing a historic mosque and a cemetery, is a significant site for Afghanistan’s Shia community,...
Nowhere to turn: Afghan women told they can only get food aid in return for sex
Laila with three children to bring up alone, she found work cooking and cleaning – until that, too, was taken...
Violence against women and girls is going unreported and unpunished in Taliban-led Afghanistan
Violence against women and girls is going unreported and unpunished in Taliban-led Afghanistan, activists and humanitarian actors are warning, as...
How a small workshop is providing light and livelihoods in Afghanistan
A small domestic crisis provided the first spark that ignited a new career for Setara. She was home alone one...
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