Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 28, 2019 Afghan women are still being imprisoned for failing virginity tests, despite a nationwide ban on the unscientific practice, U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) reported on August 27. Farhad Javid, an Islamic policy adviser for Marie Stopes International, a U.S. global family planning organization, told NPR that she and
By Farangis Najibullah & Freshta Neda Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 27, 2019 Attempts by Afghanistan to prevent the type of electoral fraud and chaos that marred previous elections could result in fewer women going to the polls in next month’s vote. The Afghan government’s plan to use a sophisticated biometric voter-identification system that includes
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 8, 2019 A “culture of abuse” continues to thrive at Afghanistan’s soccer federation because of world soccer governing body FIFA’s “apparent inaction” in a sexual abuse scandal involving female Afghan players, according to the national women’s team coach. In a letter dated August 6, coach Kelly Lindsey and the team’s
VOA News: What does a child bride bring to a marriage — a dowry, social status, domestic labor, business connections? What is her value to two families, the one she leaves and the one she joins? And what is the cost to the girl? Early marriage doesn’t happen in only one region or in one religion.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 27, 2019 Jamila Afghani, an Afghan women’s rights activist, says women in her country should have a voice in decisions that affect them and that their concerns must be addressed in any peace deal with the Taliban. “Afghan women must be able to meaningfully participate in decisions that affect them,”
Tolo News: Recently, President Ghani’s administration came under repeated accusations of sexual abuse of women by a number of high-ranking officials of the cabinet, including some ministers… sexual abuse allegations against individuals close to President Ghani were “repeatedly ignored”. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 18, 2019 Police in Slovakia are searching for four members of Afghanistan’s first all-female orchestra who disappeared from their hotel after participating in a local festival. Zohra, a 35-member orchestra, performed at a concert on July 13 at the Pohoda Festival in the western town of Trencin, some 130 kilometers
1TV: Women are more vulnerable to the illness as the number of women who suffer from mental illness is double than that of men, said Wahidillah Mayar, a spokesman for health ministry. According to psychologists, there are 120 types of mental disorders, but Afghans suffer mostly from anxiety and stress. Click here to read more (external
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 16, 2019 The head of a private radio station in eastern Afghanistan says it was shut down after numerous threats from a Taliban commander in the area who objected to women being employed at the station, while a local official said that a private dispute was behind the incident. Ramez
Michael Hughes: U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has shamelessly suggested that if he can help broker a ceasefire and ensure women are involved in intra-Afghan peace talks U.S. involvement in Afghanistan should be seen as a net benefit. This is quite audacious coming from a man who about 17 years ago single-handedly destroyed any chances for peace