Wired: Anna Loshkin’s photographs show people relaxing in the most ordinary ways. Singing pop songs in a karaoke bar. Crashing bumper cars at an amusement park. Playing paintball. They could be in any city in the US, but they’re in Afghanistan. “Even in a war zone, you still want to have fun,” she says. Click here
RT: The curious case of ‘bacha posh’ takes RT to Afghanistan – a society so patriarchal that a family having several daughters and no sons is a social stigma that’s impossible to shake. This leads to some girls being forced to live as boys. Some for life. Click here to read more (external link).
GlobalVoices.Org: Overseas, the word Afghanistan strikes fear into many people’s hearts, while some are quick to conflate it with the Taliban movement that ruled the country from 1996 to 2001 and continues to seek power through arms. But beyond politics, Afghanistan is a source of great inspiration and resolve for its long-suffering citizens, for a number of reasons. So, before asking the
Tolo News: In a bid to feed their families, about 10 struggling actors from Balkh province have recently been forced to leave the movie industry and start up businesses of their own. Hamayoun Bahar, a 45-year-old actor, who has worked in the industry for 12 years, said that due to poverty and the lack of support by
KABUL, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) — The war-weary Afghans celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the largest annual religious festivals, across the insurgency-riddled country amid tight security on Monday. Security forces had been deployed in all sensitive areas including big mosques where faithful Afghans used to offer Eid al-Adha prayer. To celebrate Eidul Adha in a peaceful
Huffington Post: The opening of a family movie theater in Kabul means women can watch films in public for the first time in two decades. For many living under Afghan society’s oppressive rules, the Galaxy Family Cinema isn’t just about films – it means a few hours of freedom. When the Taliban took control of Kabul in
Associated Press: The Wakhan corridor, which has been named Afghanistan’s second national park, is the country’s most — perhaps only — peaceful region. But it is so poor, even for Afghanistan, that people get food on credit or barter for it, and children go barefoot during the long, harsh winters. The Ismaili Shiite Muslim community here
Tolo News: A depressed economy and poverty are among the reasons for the slump in shopping sales Kabul as Eid al-Fitr arrives. Afghans say increasing unemployment, the decrease in the value of the Afghani against dollar and prices hike have had a negative effect on the markets in the country. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News: The Kabul Zoo is experiencing a sharp annual rise in visitors as over 1,500 visitors on weekdays and nearly 5,000 over weekends come to see the animals, say officials The income from the zoo, the only one in the country, has increased by up to 40 percent over the past three months – compared to
VOA News Ayaz Gul May 31, 2016 ISLAMABAD—The number of Afghans who have fled violence and remain trapped in their own country has doubled over the past three years, says a new report by Amnesty International. A staggering 1.2 million people are internally displaced in Afghanistan, showing a dramatic increase from some 500,000 in 2013,