Afghanistan International: The Taliban’s Directorate for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat province has instructed the local traffic authority to ban women from driving, according to an official letter obtained by local media. The letter, signed by Sheikh Azizurrahman Muhajir, head of the directorate, claims that “women are incapable of learning
The Guardian (UK): When the rules were announced, it was unclear how a relatively small number of “morality police” employed by the Taliban would enforce and implement these rules. Yet, in the months since the rules were announced, it has been fathers, brothers and husbands who have become, in effect, unpaid foot soldiers imposing the
Amu: Several women employed by United Nations agencies in Afghanistan say Taliban have escalated threats against their families in a bid to force them to quit their jobs, raising alarm over the safety of humanitarian workers and the future of international aid operations in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
8am: Women and girls in Afghanistan accuse foreign tourists of whitewashing the Taliban’s image, claiming that these tourists enter the country at the direct invitation of the Taliban. According to these women, foreign tourists, seeking to attract attention and enjoy their travel experiences, deliberately overlook the suffering and deprivation of women stripped of all their
Amu: Zakia Khudadadi, a para-taekwondo athlete from Afghanistan, announced on Thursday that she had won a bronze medal at the Brazil Para Taekwondo Open, adding another accolade to her trailblazing international career. “This medal is not just for me,” she wrote in a social media post, “but for all Afghan women who, despite all hardships,
8am: Several women in Kabul say that after the closure of public bathhouses designated for women and the lack of access to sufficient water, they have been forced to go to relatives’ homes to maintain personal hygiene for themselves and their families. These women say that this has created numerous challenges for them. They view
8am: Several female bakers in Kabul say the Taliban have recently shut down their bakeries without prior warning and prevented them from continuing their work. They add that the Taliban halted their operations under accusations of employing male co-workers, failure of some customers to observe hijab, and visits by men. These women emphasize that they
Afghanistan International: Dozens of Afghan women’s civil society organisations have demanded that international bodies launch legal proceedings against Cheryl Benard, wife of former US special representative Zalmay Khalilzad, for comments they say downplayed the Taliban’s gender-based repression. Benard, an author and researcher, recently asserted that Afghan women have not been excluded from society, continue to
Amu: Taliban have shut down at least 11 health science institutes in Kabul for providing training to women and girls, according to several sources familiar with the matter. The closures were ordered by the Taliban-run Ministry of Public Health, the sources said, and targeted institutes that offered basic medical and first-aid education to female students.
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi and Kian Sharifi May 21, 2025 Afghan female athletes who fled to Pakistan to escape Taliban restrictions are facing a slew of problems, including poverty, a lack of training facilities, and uncertainty about their immigration status. After the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women and girls were