Afghanistan International: Afghanistan’s Green Trend (AGT), led by Amrullah Saleh, former Afghan Vice-President, has announced that the Taliban’s head of criminals investigations department of Qarghayi district in Laghman province has been killed. This marks the first time that AGT has reported the killing of a Taliban member. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
Amu TV: Afghanistan’s national futsal team was knocked out of the 2024 AFC Futsal Asian Cup in the quarterfinals following a close defeat by Tajikistan. The match, which took place in Thailand on Wednesday, ended with a 2-1 victory for Tajikistan. In the first half, a defensive error by an Afghan player allowed Tajikistan to take a 1-0 lead. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Afghan Sports News
Roshan Noorzai
Zheela Noori
VOA News
April 23, 2024
Zuhal Akbari has opened a new pastry factory in the western Afghan city of Herat, recruiting women “so that they can do something for themselves, their families and their health.”
Akbari told VOA that most of the 11 women who work with her are university graduates who lost their jobs after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Under the Taliban, women are barred from working in the public sector and for NGOs, getting a secondary and university education, traveling long distances without male relatives, and going to parks, public baths and gyms.
Although the Taliban said that they have no problem with women working in the private sector, they have imposed restrictions on certain businesses, such as beauty salons.
Last year, the Taliban closed beauty salons that employed tens of thousands of women.
“Many women are coming to us for jobs, but we cannot hire more,” said Akbari, adding that she does not have the resources.
A U.N. Development Program report released last week stated that despite challenges, women-run businesses “emerged as a lifeline” for women in Afghanistan.
Based on a survey of some 3,100 women-led businesses, the report said that “66% of respondents reported an increase in business activities.
“You see the thriving push forward of these women moving more and more into the commerce trade area,” said Kanni Wignaraja, assistant secretary-general, assistant administrator and director of the regional bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
Multiple challenges
Wignaraja, however, told VOA that women-led businesses face multiple challenges.
“The first is affordable capital. The second is modern new skills…. And the third is mobility. The ability to physically move around, follow the markets, particularly cross-border and outside Afghanistan.
Salma Yusufzai, CEO of the Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries told VOA that the number of women in business has increased from two years ago when the Taliban seized power when many women-led businesses closed.
“There are more than 9,126 registered women [business owners with the AWCCI] and in total there are 120,000 [registered and unregistered] women-led businesses active in Afghanistan,” Yusufzai said.
She said women-led businesses are “mainly in the areas of carpet weaving, making clothes, jewelry, fruit processing and other areas in agriculture.”
Yusufzai said that one of the major problems for businesswomen in Afghanistan is the “lack of a market” for their products as they do not have access to foreign markets.
“There are no exports to the market outside the country, and no country is granting visas to Afghan businesswomen,” Yusufzai said.
She said that women-led businesses, if supported, have the potential to recruit more women because they are banned from working in other sectors.
No other options
Because women in Afghanistan are deprived of their basic rights under the Taliban, their mental health has deteriorated as they are confined to their homes.
Adela Ghafari, a resident of Herat City, had to stay home for more than a year until she found a job in a local pastry factory.
She graduated from a university with a degree in history. She wanted to be a history teacher or work for the government.
“After I graduated, I wanted to get a job as a history teacher or a government employee,” said Ghafari, “But I cannot.”
“Now I have no other option but to work here,” said Ghafari, adding “but, I have to say it is better than doing nothing at home.”
Zabihullah Ghazi and Fawzia Ahsan contributed to this report.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Afghanistan International: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami, has stated that with the Taliban assuming power in Afghanistan, the foundation for an “independent and robust government” in the country has been established. However, Afghanistan’s airspace remains under United States’ occupation. Hekmatyar has demanded from the Taliban that if the United States does not cease this action, “its embassy should be closed, and all Americans should be expelled from the country”. The leader of Hezb-e-Islami had previously alleged that the US is present in Afghanistan and supports the Taliban. However, the Taliban has denied this allegation. Click here to read more (external link).
Khaama: The US State Department, in its annual report on human rights, has stated that despite declaring a “general amnesty,” the Taliban has continued to detain citizens, especially those affiliated with the former Afghan government. The US State Department recently released a report on the human rights situation in several countries, including Afghanistan, in 2023. The report stated that 90% of Taliban prisoners are political. The report added that the Taliban often detain Afghan citizens arbitrarily, without legal basis, and in the absence of legal support mechanisms for them. Click here to read more (external link).
Related
8am: The Afghanistan National Futsal team defeated Bahrain’s national team with a score of 3-2 in their third and final match of the Futsal Asian Cup (AFC) group stage, securing advancement to the knockout stage. The game occurred on Monday night, April 22, in Thailand. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Afghan Sports News
Afghanistan International:.Iranian journalist Zhila Bani Yaghoub reported that Iran’s police forces have erroneously arrested the relatives of the late Khair Mohammad Khairkhwa Andarabi, a former commander of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front (NRF). According to Bani Yaghoub, these individuals were detained in the city of Karaj on April 7 and remain in custody. Click here to read more (external link).
ISIS trainees
8am: Meanwhile, some Hazaras and other Shiites express concerns about the continuation of ISIS attacks, describing the Taliban as unsuccessful in ensuring people’s security. They argue that under this group’s rule, people have no refuge and are even afraid to raise their voices of suffering and pain due to fear of the Taliban. Click here to read more (external link).