My family is starving, I have to sell my daughter
Few items of Afghan lives are left unsold in Jada-e Maiwand. So fast is the rush to sell and flee or, more simply, to sell and survive amid the plug-hole gurgle of the country’s diminishing economy, that the heaving bazaar of personal belongings has spilled from its usual confines along the famed thoroughfare in the […]
A new order begins under the Taliban’s governance
The phrases have tripped off the tongues of the Taliban for quite some time. “We’re working to establish an inclusive government that represents all the people of Afghanistan,” promised Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar when he recently arrived in Kabul to start talks aimed at forming a leadership to move the movement from guns […]
Afghanistan: Shukria Barakzai’s whispered voice notes and dramatic escape
For Shukria Barakzai, 15 August seemed, at first, an unremarkable Sunday morning. A prominent journalist and politician, a former member of the Afghan parliament and ambassador to Norway, she was a frequent traveller. She already had a few bags packed, as she was due to fly to Turkey later that day for a brief trip. […]
A Historical Timeline of Afghanistan
The land that is now Afghanistan has a long history of domination by foreign conquerors and strife among internally warring factions. At the gateway between Asia and Europe, this land was conquered by Darius I of Babylonia circa 500 B.C., and Alexander the Great of Macedonia in 329 B.C., among others. Mahmud of Ghazni, an 11th century conqueror […]
Taliban tell Afghan women to stay home from work because soldiers are ‘not trained’ to respect them
Fear is mounting for women and girls in Afghanistan after the Taliban told working women to stay at home, admitting they were not safe in the hands of the militant group’s soldiers. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said at a news conference on Tuesday that women should not go to work for their own safety, undermining the group’s […]
Afghanistan: Taliban tell working women to stay at home
Working women in Afghanistan must stay at home until proper systems are in place to ensure their safety, a Taliban spokesman has told reporters. “It’s a very temporary procedure,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. The Taliban, which enforced a strict version of Islamic law when they ran Afghanistan before 2001, retook full control of the country […]
Taliban vow to respect women, despite history of oppression
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban vowed Tuesday to respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought them and ensure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists as part of a publicity blitz aimed at reassuring world powers and a fearful population. Following a lightning offensive across Afghanistan that saw many cities fall to the insurgents without […]
Who are the Taliban?
The Taliban were removed from power in Afghanistan by US-led forces in 2001, but the group has seized control of the country once again following a rapid offensive. The capital, Kabul, was the last major city to fall to the offensive that began months ago but accelerated as the hardline Islamists gained control of territories. […]
Afghanistan: A woman’s story of life under the Taliban in 1999
As the Taliban prepare to form a new government in Afghanistan, one woman tells the story of how her family were torn apart when her father disappeared during Taliban rule in 1999. Friba, who lives in London, was 10 years old when she last saw her father at their home in the western city of […]
Supporting the Country’s Soldiers is the Duty of Afghan Citizens
Afghanistan has witnessed years of fighting against terrorist groups in parts of the country and now that peace talks are underway between the two groups (the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban), Taliban militants have intensified their hostile moves and attacks against the country’s military forces for the country’s territories. Many districts in Afghanistan […]