Sofrep: A series of pictures depicting the Afghanistan not often shown in the headlines, not soaked in blood or rife with shell casings. Rarely is it an easy life, but it’s still not one you often see. Click here to view photos.
The Atlantic: When makiz nasirahmad, a 24-year-old Afghan American who recently lived in Afghanistan, received a Facebook friend request from a woman with an unfamiliar name, she didn’t think twice about accepting it. The woman’s profile picture had clearly been copied off the internet, but Nasirahmad figured that the woman could be a relative of
ABC News: For 200 years, Ghulam Sakhi’s family has been blowing glass in the ancient Afghan city of Herat. He creates azure, indigo and green goblets, cups and vases that have been sold in fancy stores overseas, but like so many Afghans the artisan struggles to make a living and as he tries to keep this
Marta Pascual Juanola via WAToday (Australia): I could never have imagined that five years later my partner and I would be trekking along the country’s Karakoram, Pamir and Hindu Kush ranges, searching for one of the last nomadic cultures in the world: the Pamiri Kyrgyz. Afghanistan’s Kyrgyz nomads live in the high-altitude flats of the
South China Morning Post: Ishkashim is a bright spot in Afghanistan’s long-suffering tourism industry as it attracts those seeking superb selfies. And it’s perfectly safe – just ask the locals. Ishkashim is a small district in Afghanistan’s far northeast Badakhshan province that serves as the gateway to the famed Wakhan Valley – home to some of
BBC News: People in Helmand Province might be exhausted and desperate after many years of war and violence. But every Friday night, they still gather in dimly-lit rooms for a laugh and card games – right under the Taliban’s nose. Click here for more (external link).
ODI: Based on first-hand interviews with more than 160 Taliban fighters and officials, as well as civilians, this paper examines how the Taliban govern the lives of Afghans living under their rule. Taliban governance is more coherent than ever before; high-level commissions govern sectors such as finance, health, education, justice and taxation, with clear chains of command and policies
Sputnik: Russian auto exports to Afghanistan date back to Soviet times, to the 1930s. The mass export of Russian cars started in the 1960s. Afghanistan was one of those countries where Russian cars, trucks and buses were commonly seen. However, during the Afghan war, Soviet and Russian cars wore out from wear and tear. Kabul’s
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan: Mohammad Mirza cuts a striking figure on the streets of Kabul, bristling with bright green plastic watering cans he sells to passersby. He says he’s 97 years old. Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
AFP: With five sisters and no brothers, Sitara lives by the gender-twisting custom known as “bacha poshi”, which in Dari refers to a girl “dressed as a boy”, enabling her to safely perform the duties of a son in the patriarchal country. The 18-year-old, who resides with her impoverished family in a mud-brick house in a