A year after Taliban, Afghans who chose to stay fear grim future
2 years, 4 months ago

A year after Taliban, Afghans who chose to stay fear grim future

Al Jazeera  

A judge and a professor say they decided to stay back – despite threats and adverse conditions – to help other Afghans. Even as her friends and colleagues fled fearing the new regime, Alimi, one of only 270 female judges in the country, chose to stay back despite the threats against her. “I can’t even imagine what would they would do to me but I am terrified of what they will do to my family,” she said. “I had a lot of hopes for the next generation, the youth we were training who would take Afghanistan places,” Marzia said. We oversaw so many cases of violence against women, domestic and family issues that a man would not be able to deal with because, in a conservative society like Afghanistan, the women would just not feel safe approaching male judges,” she said.

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History of this topic

Afghans are suffering. Don’t expect any tears from the Taliban
4 months ago

Afghans are suffering. Don’t expect any tears from the Taliban

Live Mint  

THE STREETS of Kabul used to be riotously, almost headache-inducingly colourful. There were billboards advertising Western wear and Punjabi salwar kameez, murals promoting women’s and children’s rights, and everywhere the black-red-green tricolour of the Afghan Republic. Black-and-white also describes Western countries’ approach to Afghanistan since their humiliating exit from the country on August 15th 2021. Islamic State Khorasan Province, a …

3 Years on: The Cost of Taliban Rule
4 months, 3 weeks ago

3 Years on: The Cost of Taliban Rule

The Diplomat  

August 15, 2024, marked three years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and took the Afghan people hostage. In 2018, when then-U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Zalmay Khalilzad as the special envoy for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan, he enthusiastically pressed for negotiations with the Taliban to end the United States’ longest war. The Taliban’s illegitimate rule has had …

Afghanistan’s pro-democracy leaders still see a future without the Taliban
1 year ago

Afghanistan’s pro-democracy leaders still see a future without the Taliban

The Independent  

Forced to gather in exile, Afghanistan’s resistance movement is working in the shadows on ways to oust the Taliban from its grip on Kabul, knowing it can no longer trust or rely on the Western allies who so hastily pulled out of the country in August 2021. “The West is watching the Taliban close schools and ban education, but it …

Amina Zurmati and Qudratullah Zurmati
1 year, 3 months ago

Amina Zurmati and Qudratullah Zurmati

The Diplomat  

Many Afghan women never experienced the Taliban’s first period of rule in the 1990s. There have been widespread reports of the Taliban’s attacks on human rights defenders, prosecution of minorities, suppression of women’s rights, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions, among others. As individuals who fight and defend the rights of women and minorities peacefully, we have been forced to either …

Taliban celebrate return to power 2 years on amid erosion of Afghan women's rights
1 year, 4 months ago

Taliban celebrate return to power 2 years on amid erosion of Afghan women's rights

India Today  

Afghanistan's Taliban marked the second anniversary of their return to power on Tuesday, celebrating their takeover of Kabul and the establishment of what they said was security throughout the country under an Islamic system. "On the second anniversary of the conquest of Kabul, we would like to congratulate the mujahid nation of Afghanistan and ask them to thank Almighty Allah …

UN says leaving Afghanistan would be ‘heartbreaking’
1 year, 8 months ago

UN says leaving Afghanistan would be ‘heartbreaking’

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is ready to take the “heartbreaking” decision to pull out of Afghanistan in May if it can’t persuade the Taliban to let local women work for the organization, the head of the U.N. Development Program said. “But it’s not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.” The UNDP said Tuesday that it “reaffirms its long-standing …

Afghan woman fears for life if sent to Afghanistan after visa denial
1 year, 8 months ago

Afghan woman fears for life if sent to Afghanistan after visa denial

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Her MP, Alison Thewliss, said …

World faces tough choices in dealing with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
1 year, 9 months ago

World faces tough choices in dealing with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

The Hindu  

Published : Mar 22, 2023 14:24 IST - 7 MINS READ On the third anniversary of the Doha Agreement, signed on February 29, 2020, between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, US spokesperson Ned Price said that the Afghan Taliban were empowered by the agreement. The Afghan Taliban, in its statement, celebrated the day on which the US-led foreign …

Afghanistan’s Taliban officials ’miss the jihad life’, turn to quiet quitting
1 year, 9 months ago

Afghanistan’s Taliban officials ’miss the jihad life’, turn to quiet quitting

Live Mint  

The transition from 'jihad fighter' to ‘bureaucratic cog’ is not going well for the Taliban. Against this backdrop, many have now resorted to ‘quiet quitting’ - doom-scrolling through social media or ruing the loss of their social lives - as they toil within Afghanistan's ministries. “A large number of Taliban fighters have moved to Afghanistan’s cities since the movement’s capture …

‘Devil has returned’: Afghan women forced to go back to abusive husbands
1 year, 9 months ago

‘Devil has returned’: Afghan women forced to go back to abusive husbands

Live Mint  

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has recently forced women to return to their abusive husbands, in stark contrast to the ongoing global celebration of International Women's Day which honors women's achievements and advocates for gender equality. The Taliban government adheres to an austere interpretation of Islam and has imposed severe restrictions on women's lives that the United Nations called "gender-based …

Explained: How Taliban’s move to bar women from NGOs worsens the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan
1 year, 11 months ago

Explained: How Taliban’s move to bar women from NGOs worsens the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan

Firstpost  

The latest ban is another signal that the Taliban leadership is determined to reinstitute the hard-line rule that the group maintained during its first stretch in power in the 1990s The Afghan government on Saturday barred women from working in local and international humanitarian organisations, officials said, a move that threatens billions of dollars of aid that has kept Afghanistan …

Taliban heap another injustice on women
2 years ago

Taliban heap another injustice on women

Hindustan Times  

If there is one demographic that has suffered the most brutal oppression since the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan last year, it is women, with indignity and injustice heaped upon them, time after time. Soon after the chaotic American exit and the shock collapse of Kabul in September 2021, women were pushed out of government and public policy roles, …

Timeline: Taliban crackdown on Afghan women’s education, rights
2 years ago

Timeline: Taliban crackdown on Afghan women’s education, rights

Al Jazeera  

Group has backtracked on promises to guarantee certain rights for girls and women since its return to power last year. May 2022: Stay at home Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhunzada orders women on May 7 to fully cover themselves, including their faces, in public and generally stay at home. August 2022: Protests break out Taliban fighters beat women protesters chanting …

Afghan women, undeterred by Taliban, secretly network for change
2 years ago

Afghan women, undeterred by Taliban, secretly network for change

Al Jazeera  

For months, Shamail Naseri has been moving house-to-house to evade arrest by Taliban authorities. Naseri, along with other women’s activists, has been actively involved in providing support to vulnerable Afghan women after the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan government dissolved critical state support structures like the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and after key organisations, including the largest network of women’s …

Empowering Afghan Women and Their Civil Resistance
2 years, 2 months ago

Empowering Afghan Women and Their Civil Resistance

The Diplomat  

After the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, the international community lost everything that it had invested in the last two decades in Afghanistan. The military resistance on the ground, supported by neighboring countries, and the international community’s stance against the Taliban’s strict rules gave Afghan women hope for resistance. Some Survival Strategies To support Afghan women who still fight …

Afghan women’s long and hard struggle for the right to divorce
2 years, 2 months ago

Afghan women’s long and hard struggle for the right to divorce

Al Jazeera  

Women had struggled long and hard for the right to divorce, but since the Taliban returned to power last year, the situation worsened. “The judges were gone, the lawyers were gone, and with the help of the Taliban, my husband forced me to return to his house, threatening to kill my family if I didn’t,” she said. “There are no …

Why the Taliban’s war on women is gravest women’s rights crisis in world
2 years, 3 months ago

Why the Taliban’s war on women is gravest women’s rights crisis in world

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Experts came together for a highly emotional event hosted …

‘I want to leave more than ever’: A year after U.S. pullout, Kabul is a city in despair
2 years, 3 months ago

‘I want to leave more than ever’: A year after U.S. pullout, Kabul is a city in despair

LA Times  

Standing on the side of a mud-crusted street by a sewage canal, Shafiullah heaved a 110-pound bag of flour into the trunk of his battered Toyota Corolla and sighed. “She can’t go to school,” Husseini said, gesturing at her sister, who stood silently by her side. Yes, there are less intihaari bombings because the Taliban themselves were the intihaaris and …

Increased security but little hope as Taliban mark year in power in Afghanistan
2 years, 4 months ago

Increased security but little hope as Taliban mark year in power in Afghanistan

India Today  

The Taliban and their supporters waved the group's black and white flag on the streets of Afghanistan on Monday to celebrate a year since they marched into the capital and took power after a stunning series of battlefield victories. In the 12 months since the United States' chaotic withdrawal, some Afghans have welcomed improved security but struggled with poverty, drought, …

Afghans still adjusting to US: New life, new struggles
2 years, 7 months ago

Afghans still adjusting to US: New life, new struggles

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Taliban forces had taken the Afghan capital. “We are not sure what may happen,” said Gulsom Esmaelzade, whose family has been shuttled between hotel rooms in the San Diego area since January, after spending three months at a New Jersey military base. “They are facing a ticking time bomb of what happens if they don’t get SIV or …

My heart and body shake: Afghan women defy Taliban
2 years, 10 months ago

My heart and body shake: Afghan women defy Taliban

India Today  

One after the other, quickly, carefully, keeping their heads down, a group of Afghan women step into a small Kabul apartment block -- risking their lives as a nascent resistance against the Taliban. Hoda Khamosh, a published poet and former NGO worker who organised workshops to help empower women, was one of a few women flown to Norway to meet …

Relief and despair: What end of 20-year war brings to Afghan women
2 years, 10 months ago

Relief and despair: What end of 20-year war brings to Afghan women

India Today  

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August brought an end to 20 years of fighting -- and relief for many women -- but harsh restrictions imposed by the new government are also causing despair. "Before this, the planes were in the sky and bombing," said the mother of three, who like many Afghans goes by only one name. "We are …

Afghan women face hardship as Taliban struggles to revive economy
2 years, 11 months ago

Afghan women face hardship as Taliban struggles to revive economy

Al Jazeera  

Several Afghan women Al Jazeera spoke to say they have struggled to put food on the table as Taliban fails to revive the economy. According to independent Afghan analyst Ahmed-Waleed Kakar, “the main challenges for women are those reflected across the country at large – the financial and economic,” he told Al Jazeera. “Teachers comprised the largest bulk of women’s …

Taliban rule marked by killings, ‘litany of abuses’, UN says
3 years ago

Taliban rule marked by killings, ‘litany of abuses’, UN says

Al Jazeera  

In addition to extrajudicial killings, UN says the Taliban also responsible for hindering women’s rights in Afghanistan. The United Nations says it has received “credible allegations” of extrajudicial killings of more than 100 former Afghan national security forces and others associated with Afghanistan’s former government since its fall three months ago, with most taking place at the hands of the …

What Taliban mean for Afghans, writes Afghan woman mayor Zarifa Ghafari | VIEW
3 years ago

What Taliban mean for Afghans, writes Afghan woman mayor Zarifa Ghafari | VIEW

India Today  

Nearly three months after the Taliban illegitimately wrested power, Afghanistan is at the edge of abyss. It is becoming clear that Taliban 2.0 are going to be worse, as their worldview remains unchanged, rooted in medieval ideologies especially, on the crucial issue of women rights. Though in the first Taliban news conference after the group regained control of the Afghan …

What Western feminists can do to support Afghan women living under the Taliban
3 years, 2 months ago

What Western feminists can do to support Afghan women living under the Taliban

Salon  

Since the Taliban took control of Kabul and the central government on Aug. 15, efforts to support Afghan women have become extremely challenging. Adding fuel to the fire, the World Bank suspended financing to the Afghan health care system through its Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. Prior to the U.S. military withdrawal, the World Bank funded the Sehatmandi project — a …

Where women took shelter from abuse, Taliban now in control
3 years, 2 months ago

Where women took shelter from abuse, Taliban now in control

Associated Press  

KABUL, Afghanistan — When the Taliban seized power, the operator of the only women’s shelter in a northern Afghan city ran away. Whether under Taliban rule or not, women in Afghanistan’s deeply conservative and often tribal society are often subject to archaic codes of behavior that hold them responsible for the honor of their families. But even before the Taliban …

The AP Interview: Don’t isolate the Taliban, Pakistan urges
3 years, 3 months ago

The AP Interview: Don’t isolate the Taliban, Pakistan urges

Associated Press  

UNITED NATIONS — Be realistic. This is the reality, and can they turn away from this reality?” He said Pakistan “is in sync with the international community” in wanting to see a peaceful, stable Afghanistan with no space for terrorist elements to increase their foothold, and for the Taliban to ensure “that Afghan soil is never used again against any …

Anita Anand | Afghans, world should just wait for the Taliban to self-destruct'
3 years, 3 months ago

Anita Anand | Afghans, world should just wait for the Taliban to self-destruct'

Deccan Chronicle  

On August 15 this year, India’s Independence Day, an unspeakable event occurred in Afghanistan, taking the world by storm. In 2004, an assembly of 502 Afghan delegates adopted a constitution, creating a strong presidential system intended to unite the country’s various ethnic groups. “Afghans have seized the opportunity provided by the United States and its international partners to lay the …

Afghanistan’s women judges are in hiding, fearing reprisal attacks from men they jailed
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghanistan’s women judges are in hiding, fearing reprisal attacks from men they jailed

CNN  

CNN — Tugging at the folds of the traditional hijab dress, two young sisters jostle and laugh to try to get their mother’s attention as she fries onions on the stove. Nabila “They can’t see their mother being killed” The risks for Afghanistan’s women judges pre-date the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Furthermore, she said women had been “progressively excluded …

Fear of prisoners freed by Taliban pushes 200 female Afghan judges into hiding: Report
3 years, 3 months ago

Fear of prisoners freed by Taliban pushes 200 female Afghan judges into hiding: Report

India Today  

Fearing that they might be killed by the Taliban or prisoners freed by them, over 200 women judges across Afghanistan have gone into hiding. APPEAL TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY Claiming that more than 200 women judges in Afghanistan were in a similar situation as her, she requested the international community to help them before “the Taliban arrest us and kill us.” …

Hundreds wait for clearance to leave Afghanistan’s Mazar airport
3 years, 3 months ago

Hundreds wait for clearance to leave Afghanistan’s Mazar airport

Al Jazeera  

Afghan girls from a US-based NGO and a number of Americans among group that has been trying to leave for a week. Marina LeGree, the founder and executive director of a small US non-governmental organisation active in Afghanistan, said on Monday that some 600 to 1,300 people, including girls from her group, had been waiting near the Mazar-i-Sharif airport for …

Hear the voices of the women of Afghanistan
3 years, 3 months ago

Hear the voices of the women of Afghanistan

Hindustan Times  

Amid the violence in Afghanistan, the fate of women in what is already a de facto Islamic Emirate has received inadequate attention. I spoke to Mahbouba Siraj, president of the board of the Afghan Women’s Network and human rights activist who lives in Kabul. Yes, we heard a lot of talk about human rights for women from world leaders but …

Afghan women demand rights as Taliban seek recognition
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghan women demand rights as Taliban seek recognition

Associated Press  

KABUL, Afghanistan — A small group of Afghan women protested near the presidential palace in Kabul on Friday, demanding equal rights from the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new rulers work on forming a government and seeking international recognition. The Taliban said Western Union, which halted service after the militants entered Kabul last month, will resume transfers, which may help Afghans to …

Afghan women demand rights as Taliban seek recognition
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghan women demand rights as Taliban seek recognition

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A small group of Afghan women protested near …

Afghan Women Forced into Marriages at Kabul Airport to Flee Country Amid Taliban Takeover: Report
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghan Women Forced into Marriages at Kabul Airport to Flee Country Amid Taliban Takeover: Report

News 18  

US officials processing Afghan refugees abroad recently alerted the State Department to instances in which women and girls were forced into marriage or arrived with male partners posing as their husbands to be eligible for evacuation and escape the Taliban, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources said that some Afghan women and girls housed at one …

Afghan women forced to marry outside Kabul airport to help them evacuate, claim reports
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghan women forced to marry outside Kabul airport to help them evacuate, claim reports

India Today  

In yet another story of desperation among Afghans to flee the country, a new report has said that many women were made to get married right outside the Kabul airport to make them eligible for evacuation to the United States. It was found out at one of the evacuation centres in the UAE that some of the families of these …

Taliban to form Afghanistan govt under Mullah Baradar today, women take to streets in Kabul | Key points
3 years, 3 months ago

Taliban to form Afghanistan govt under Mullah Baradar today, women take to streets in Kabul | Key points

India Today  

The Taliban's efforts to legitimise their rule over Afghanistan got deferred by a day, even as billboards informing about the formation of government, led by Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar, cropped up all over Kabul on Friday. Deposed vice president Amrullah Saleh shed light on the alleged “war crimes” committed by the Taliban in the days since seizing control of Afghanistan …

Afghanistan’s arc from 9/11 to today: Once hopeful, now sad
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghanistan’s arc from 9/11 to today: Once hopeful, now sad

Associated Press  

KABUL, Afghanistan — It was Nov. 13, 2001. “I found the people relieved fresh and full on energy to start anew,” the economist said from his home in Geneva, as he watched the Taliban’s return to power last month. ___ The return last month of the Taliban, with their long beards and flowing traditional turbans, has created widespread fear among …

War-weary Afghans divided on Taliban rule as US forces depart
3 years, 3 months ago

War-weary Afghans divided on Taliban rule as US forces depart

Al Jazeera  

Many Afghans fear a potential economic collapse as the Taliban celebrates the withdrawal of the last US troops. Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, took to Twitter, writing: “The last American occupier withdrew … at 12 O’clock and our country gained its full independence, praise and gratitude be to God.” Members of the group spent the rest of the early morning hours …

Afghanistan crisis: No country for women as Taliban takes control
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghanistan crisis: No country for women as Taliban takes control

New Indian Express  

Afghan women’s rights campaigners who are caught between the Western concept of female emancipation and Islamic gender values are keen to persuade the world from stereotyping oppressed Afghan women; they cite Nazoo Anaa, “the mother of Afghan nationalism”, and the female “warlord” Bibi Ayesha, who led male soldiers in the war against the Soviets and the Taliban as examples of …

With no hopes left to flee Kabul, two Afghan women look to future under Taliban
3 years, 3 months ago

With no hopes left to flee Kabul, two Afghan women look to future under Taliban

India Today  

Teacher Shirin Tabriq spent five days and nights outside Kabul airport trying to get on a flight from Afghanistan. READ: 'Afghan Hindus allowed, not me,' says woman MP deported at Delhi airport, India expresses regret Tabriq, the second wife of a former Afghan government official who fled to Pakistan in February, is furious with what she sees as the United …

‘We’re losing the best’: Afghanistan faces a massive brain drain as its people flee
3 years, 3 months ago

‘We’re losing the best’: Afghanistan faces a massive brain drain as its people flee

LA Times  

U.S. soldiers watch over Afghans waiting to be processed for evacuation flights out of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday. What is the solution for them?” Since the Taliban’s rapid-fire takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, thousands of Afghans, with the group’s brutal rule in the 1990s in mind, have massed at the capital’s airport, cajoling, pleading, fighting and even dying to …

Afghanistan's arc from 9/11 to today: once hopeful, now sad
3 years, 3 months ago

Afghanistan's arc from 9/11 to today: once hopeful, now sad

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I found the people relieved fresh and full on …

'No bright future': Afghan women share their concerns for a future under Taliban rule
3 years, 3 months ago

'No bright future': Afghan women share their concerns for a future under Taliban rule

ABC  

As the dust settles on the Taliban's swift and decisive move into the Afghan capital Kabul, millions of people are coming to terms with a different future. Key points: Women in Afghanistan say they fear for their futures under Taliban rule The brother of a female lawmaker says she's received direct threats Others have tried to leave via Kabul airport …

The Afghans are not ready to believe the Taliban: Here's why
3 years, 3 months ago

The Afghans are not ready to believe the Taliban: Here's why

India Today  

As the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, fear gripped the people of Afghanistan who were reminded of the militant group's reign of oppression in its previous stint. Meet the leaders who hold the key to Afghanistan's future DOOR-TO-DOOR MANHUNT Days after the Taliban gained control, reports said the group launched a door-to-door manhunt targetting Afghans who worked for …

We'll Never Even Think of Going Back to Afghanistan Now: Women Refugees in India
3 years, 4 months ago

We'll Never Even Think of Going Back to Afghanistan Now: Women Refugees in India

News 18  

On August 15, when her native city Kabul fell to the Taliban, 19-year-old Mariam Arzo Nooyar was crying at her house in south Delhi’s Bhogal, saying all hope of redemption for her war-torn Afghanistan was replaced by nightmares. But this August 15, when India was celebrating its 75th Independence Day, we lost our, as Kabul fell to the Taliban that …

No hope for future, challenging life ahead: Afghans speak of uncertainty after evacuation
3 years, 4 months ago

No hope for future, challenging life ahead: Afghans speak of uncertainty after evacuation

India Today  

Afghans who fled their country this week have spoken about their despair at leaving loved ones behind and the uncertain future ahead of them after the Taliban's rapid takeover. The woman said she fled with her husband, a dentist, and three children, fearing that her work with international humanitarian organisations would make them a Taliban target. "The most disturbing part …

I managed to get out of Afghanistan – but now all I can think about are those left behind
3 years, 4 months ago

I managed to get out of Afghanistan – but now all I can think about are those left behind

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. I fled Kabul a while ago …

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