Undark: “Some key positions in climate sectors are filled by Mullahs” — or religious scholars — “who have zero understanding about climate issues,” said Najibullah Sadid, a water resource expert who has lived in and conducted research in Afghanistan, and is based at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. Click here to read more (external link).
Malala’s glittering red carpet tribute: Activist’s Oscars jewels belonged to Afghan Queen who advocated for women’s rights
Malala Yousafzai
Daily Mail (UK): After a speech given by her husband in which he said Islam did not require women to cover their bodies or wear a veil, Queen Soraya tore off her face covering in front of a crowd of onlookers. In a 1926 speech marking the seventh anniversary of independence from British rule, she said the new freedom belonged ‘to all of us’ and called on women to ‘take their part’ in driving the country forward. Click here to read more (external link).
Tolo News in Dari – March 14, 2023
Male Tailors Claim Restrictions on Making Clothes for Women
Tolo News: Several male tailors in Charikar, the capital of Parwan province, said that they had received verbal orders from officials of the department of virtue and vice prohibiting them from making clothing for women. Tailors said that with the closing of their shops, they are facing economic challenges. “Our shops are on the brink of collapse, there is no business,” said Mohammad Saber Qudous, the representative of Parwan tailors. Click here to read more (external link).
Money Changer Killed in Nangarhar by Taliban Intelligence
8am: The brother of Haji Rajveli has called for the Taliban intelligence group to be held accountable for his death. On Monday, Rahmatwali released a video in which he declared that he had no affiliation with ex soldiers or anyone else, and that the Taliban must answer for their actions or face consequences on the Day of Judgment. Money changers in Nangarhar have reported that Taliban intelligence has been extorting them for ransom and subjecting them to harassment. The Taliban has a history of arresting, torturing, and killing soldiers of the former government and citizens of the country, and this is not the first instance of such actions. Click here to read more (external link).
$40 Million Cash Reaches Kabul, DAB to Auction $17 on Wednesday
Khaama: DBA reports from receiving cash packages on a weekly basis, which helps the Taliban-run administration to strengthen their governance, according to the critics of the ruling regime. According to the central bank, this is the 61st aid package that has been dispatched to Afghanistan. Since the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, the international community’s cash aid has reached exceeded $2 billion. Compared to the Pakistani Rupee and Iranian Rial, Afghani has remained quite strong over the past 18 months. Many financial and economic experts relate the stable value of Afghani to the inflow of USD to Afghanistan under the umbrella of humanitarian cash aid. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan dispatch: ‘women’s ability to access the court system has been completely wrecked’
JURIST: After August 2021, women’s participation in the Taliban government reached zero. Given the Taliban’s rules restricting women’s lives, women’s contribution to the social and political life of the country is destroyed—at least under Taliban rule. Considering this, women cannot access justice agencies and in most areas their petitions asking for justice cannot not be heard, which will increase the deepening violence against women. Domestic violence against women has escalated since the Islamic Republic was overthrown, according to many local and international reports, and women’s ability to access the court system has been completely wrecked. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan Opens Four-Day Anti-Polio Vaccination Campaign
Child getting polio drops (file photo)
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
March 13, 2023
Afghanistan on March 13 kicked off a nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign for children under the age of 5, the office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan told RFE/RL. The campaign is the second since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Before returning to power, the Taliban had banned vaccinations in areas under their control, but then they agreed to allow such programs under a deal negotiated with the United Nations. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only nations in the world where polio is still endemic.
Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Tolo News in Dari – March 13, 2023
Over 1,000 people killed in Natural Disaster in Afghanistan
Khaama: Natural disasters have left over 1,000 people dead, and over 2,000 others injured across Afghanistan during the current solar year (1401), according to a Disaster Management Ministry official. According to the World Bank Report, Natural disasters such as flooding, earthquakes, avalanches, landslides, and droughts are exacerbating vulnerability and poverty in Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).