NBC News: In August 2021, when U.S.-led forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan and evacuation flights were being overwhelmed by people desperate to leave with them, Mahbouba Seraj decided to stay. Seraj, 75, an Afghan-American women’s rights activist and founder of the nonprofit Afghan Women’s Network, had been in Afghanistan since 2003, when she moved back
Al Jazeera: One year ago, the Taliban told women they couldn’t study medicine. Now, some are doing it in secret. Lima was just weeks away from graduating from a medical school in Kabul when the Taliban banned higher education for women last December, interrupting her studies and that of thousands of other women. Women already
Khaama: The head of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch reacted to reports about the education of girls in religious schools, stating that these schools are not an ‘acceptable substitute’ for public schools. Heather Barr said it seems Roza Otunbayeva is ‘ready for a major and deeply harmful compromise’ in the absence of
Ayaz Gul VOA News December 21, 2023 ISLAMABAD — The United States and human rights defenders Thursday renewed a call for Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to allow female students to return to universities and ensure that women have access to education at all levels. This week marks one year since the exclusively male Taliban government abruptly suspended
BBC News: “The last time I was able to buy milk for my baby was two months ago. Normally I just fill the [feeding] bottle with tea. Or I soak bread in tea and then feed it to her,” Sohaila Niyazi says, sitting on the floor of her mud brick home up a hill in
Khaama: Women and girls in Afghanistan describe their lives under the rule of the Taliban administration as ‘a gradual death.’ According to human rights defenders, the current situation in Afghanistan is not desirable for any human being, and they ask the Taliban to modify its policies towards women. Still, after more than two years, no
8am: With the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan, the United Nations and other relief agencies have described the economic situation in the country as dire. Meanwhile, residents of the country are concerned about the continued unemployment, the spread of poverty, and the Taliban’s indifference to providing services. They say that with the arrival of the winter
CNN: Experts say reliable statistics on suicide and suicide attempts aren’t compiled in Afghanistan, but rights groups and doctors say they’ve seen an increase under Taliban rule. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 14, 2023 The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says de facto Taliban governing officials have admitted to sending women to prison as a means of protecting them from gender-based violence. In a report published on December 14, the UN mission said the Taliban has eliminated the country’s 23 state protection
Khaama: The report indicates that 45% of women have requested increased international aid to improve their situation. Another 39% of women have stated that direct dialogue opportunities with the Taliban are necessary to improve their human condition. Meanwhile, 4% of women have emphasized the recognition of the Taliban. A Gallup survey in 2023 shows that