8am: Some journalists working in media outlets controlled by the Taliban have complained about discriminatory treatment toward the Persian language. They state that some media managers, driven by a desire to curry favor with the Taliban and linguistic biases, have used the group’s name to justify efforts to eliminate Persian words. These journalists highlight instances such as the removal of university signboards written in Persian and the prohibition of Persian terms in educational and academic institutions, emphasizing that such actions have created opportunities for misuse by individuals outside the Taliban’s official structure. Zahra (pseudonym), a journalist who worked at a local media outlet, said: “After the Taliban took control, the use of certain words deemed sensitive by the group was banned. There was constant emphasis on avoiding these words and using Pashto equivalents instead.” Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan: Young woman driven to opium fields by Taliban restrictions
Amu: The day Setara, a young woman in Badakhshan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, passed the university entrance exam was the day she believed her life would begin. Instead, it ended in a poppy field. Once dreaming of becoming a teacher, the young woman from Badakhshan, whose name has been changed in this story to protect her identity, now spends her days bent over poppy plants, collecting raw opium for local traffickers. It is not a life she chose, she said, but one she was pushed into after the Taliban banned higher education for women and barred them from most forms of work. “If the schools had stayed open, I would be graduating from university now,” she said. “Instead, I’m working in the poppy fields. We know it’s wrong. We feel ashamed. But we have to survive.” Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – June 15, 2025
Amnesty International: Afghan Refugees in U.S. Should Not Be Forced to Return
Khaama: Amid the looming threat of deportation for thousands of Afghan refugees in the United States, Amnesty International has issued a strong warning, stating that no one should be forced to return to dangerous conditions. In a post on X on Tuesday, July 15, Amnesty highlighted that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 12,000 Afghan refugees in the U.S. has officially ended, placing them at imminent risk of arrest and removal. The organization condemned the U.S. government’s move, calling it a betrayal of the promises made to Afghan refugees, many of whom fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover seeking safety and stability. Click here to read more (external link).
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UN envoy raises alarm over Afghanistan’s widespread illiteracy
Ariana: The United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, has expressed deep concern over the country’s low literacy rates, stating that Afghanistan ranks among the nations with the highest levels of illiteracy globally. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Kabul Book Festival on Monday, Otunbayeva revealed that only 50% of Afghan men and approximately 20% of Afghan women are literate. Click here to read more (external link).
Nearly 12,000 Afghan Migrants Face Possible Deportation from the US
Khaama: In a significant blow to Afghan migrants in the United States, a federal judge in Maryland has ruled to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 12,000 Afghans, leaving them vulnerable to arrest and deportation. The decision, delivered by Judge Theodore Chuang, dismissed a motion to extend TPS protections, with enforcement beginning Monday, July 14. Human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have sharply criticized the move, warning that forced returns to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan could endanger lives—especially for women and former U.S. allies. The concern is heightened by recent rulings from the International Criminal Court condemning gender-based oppression under the Taliban regime. Click here to read more (external link).
More Afghan Migrants/Refugees News
- U.S. Deports Migrants to Third Countries with Just Six Hours’ Notice
- The Take: Why are Afghan refugees being sent back to Taliban rule?
- Forced Deportation of Migrants and Taliban Incompetence: Surging Rents and Housing Crisis in Kabul
- Hosting Undocumented Afghans No Longer Feasible, Says Iranian VP
- Deported Afghans Can Reclaim Rental Deposits Via Taliban Embassy, Says Iran
Tolo News in Dari – July 14, 2025
Shpageeza Cricket League to begin July 19 with star-studded squads announced
Amu: The 10th edition of the Shpageeza Cricket League is set to begin next Saturday, July 19, in Kabul, with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirming finalized squads for the five competing regional teams earlier this week. The ACB’s national selection committee announced the squads on July 9, with each side featuring a blend of national team regulars and emerging domestic talent. The tournament, powered by XBull, is Afghanistan’s premier T20 competition and will be held entirely in the capital. The participating teams are: Mis-e Ainak Knights, Boost Defenders, Band-e Amir Dragons, Amo Sharks, and Speen Ghar Tigers. Click here to read more (external link).
NRF Alleges Chinese Presence At Former US Base In Afghanistan
Nazary
Afghanistan International: The National Resistance Front (NRF) has claimed that China is operating at Afghanistan’s former US military base in Bagram, accusing the Taliban of facilitating foreign interference in Afghanistan. Ali Maisam Nazary, head of foreign relations for the NRF, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday that there are “credible reports” confirming a Chinese presence at the Bagram strategic airbase north of Kabul. Click here to read more (external link).
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Other Afghanistan- US News
A Star Gone Missing: Afghan Singer Vanishes In Country Where Music Is Forbidden
Z. Hashimi
By Firuza Azizi and Farangis Najibullah
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 13, 2025
A popular Afghan singer has been missing for more than a month in Kabul, where she shot to fame with her performance on a popular television talent show nearly a decade ago.
Zulala Hashimi’s husband says she left home on June 4 to go shopping for the upcoming Eid celebrations, telling him she would return in “a couple of hours.” She hasn’t been heard from or seen since.
“Zulala was supposed to go with her aunt, who lives nearby, but failed to show up at her aunt’s house,” her husband, Sayed Mohsen Sadat, told RFE/RL.
“Zulala didn’t take her mobile phone with her because our 4-year-old son was playing games on it, and she didn’t want him to cry when she left,” Sadat said.
In a country where music is banned and where at least two singers were shot dead in recent years, Zulala’s disappearance has sparked fears for her life and welfare.
The Taliban, Afghanistan’s de facto government, considers music to be against the teachings of Islam and has outlawed it in all public places, weddings and other social gatherings, and on television and radio.
Sadat said he has sought help from the Taliban-led government and accused the Taliban police of inaction and a “lack of cooperation.”
But in a rare comment on July 7, the Taliban’s Interior Ministry claimed that Zulala, 25, left home due to marital issues and domestic violence, an allegation her husband vehemently denies.
“Our probes indicate that this woman has had longstanding domestic issues and disagreements with her husband, and that — due to the increasing domestic violence in recent days — she was forced to leave her home and go somewhere else,” Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told RFE/RL.
Oani said, the police are trying to find out Zulala’s whereabouts.
“She might contact us or the police to seek divorce,” Qani said, without providing further details.
‘Love Marriage’
Sadat angrily rejected the allegation of domestic violence and said the couple had a happy marriage, which unlike the majority of unions in ultraconservative Afghanistan, wasn’t an arranged marriage. He called it a love marriage.
The couple met and fell in love nearly a decade ago at the Tolo television studio where he worked as a stage technician and she was a participant in the then-immensely popular Afghan Star music competition, an Afghan version of the American Idol contest.
Zulala, a native of the conservative Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, became an instant household name in her debut, singing a Pashto song in the show’s 12th season in 2016.
She was the runner-up in the competition, making her the first female singer to finish in Afghan Star’s top two.
Millions of Afghans tuned in to watch and vote for the contestants of Afghan Star, which aired 15 seasons before it ended when the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021 and outlawed music.
The return of the Taliban forced hundreds of Afghan singers, dancers, and musicians to flee Afghanistan. Those who were unable to leave have gone silent, fearing for their lives and well aware of the violence that has cut down other performers.
Folk singer Fawad Andarabi was dragged out of his home and shot in the head in his home village of Kishnabad in the northern Baghlan Province in 2021. Andarabi’s family said the killing was carried out by a Taliban fighter.
Another musician, Muslim Niristani, was shot dead in the Nuristan Province in 2023.
In 2024, the Taliban’s Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice announced that it burned more than 21,000 musical instruments seized over the previous year.
The morality police shared images of a bonfire of what it called illegal equipment and claimed that music leads to “moral corruption.”
During its first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban banned all forms of music from television broadcasts and radio and from weddings and other social gatherings.
‘Zulala Wanted To Resume Her Career As Singer Outside Afghanistan’
Zulala had largely been living a quiet life away from the limelight following her performance in Afghan Star. Speaking to RFE/RL, Sadat denied rumors that he didn’t allow his wife to perform in public.
“I fell in love with a girl when she was singing. Why would I silence her?” Sadat said. “It was her own decision not to perform, especially after [the fall of the former] government. Zulala loves singing. She recorded several songs on her mobile phone, but she hasn’t been keen on performing at weddings or sharing her music on social media.”
The couple planned to leave Afghanistan and resettle in Germany, where Zulala wanted to resume her career as a singer, according to Sadat. He said their immigration case was being processed. RFE/RL cannot verify the claim.
“Zulala was excited to leave. It was her idea, and she was very happy,” said Sadat.
Zulala’s mother and siblings did not respond to RFE/RL’s requests for comment.