Messages by two influential Taliban leaders in Afghanistan this week showed tensions between hardliners and more moderate elements who want to scrap harsher policies and attract more outside support, experts said Thursday. The messages for Eid al-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan were delivered by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who defended the imposition of Islamic … Read more
When the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, it publicly promised a future where women would be active participants in society, free to study and work within a framework outlined by the group. In a world eager for positive change, the international community hoped that this time, perhaps, the regime would be different from … Read more
More than two-thirds of the U.N. Security Council’s members demanded Monday that the Taliban rescind all policies and decrees oppressing and discriminating against women and girls, including banning girls’ education above the sixth grade and women’s right to work and move freely. A statement by 11 of the 15 council members condemned the Taliban’s repression … Read more
The status of women’s rights has steadily and predictably eroded under Taliban rule, in this second experiment by the terrorist group to remold Afghanistan to their puritanical vision of a society where women have no rights or freedoms. Girls have been banned from attending school past grade six since the group regained power in 2021, … Read more
In the complex tapestry of Afghanistan’s unfolding existence, a poignant new chapter emerged on January 11, as the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed deep concern over the arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls for alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code. In its statement, UNAMA said that since the beginning … Read more
Imagine you are a mother, with your child so malnourished that their tiny body can barely function, as severe cold, clean water shortages, and sustained hunger ravage their immune system and infections like pneumonia and acute watery diarrhea take hold. Local clinics don’t function due to corruption and funding shortfalls. Seeking help is complicated because … Read more
Advertisement In March 2022, attending school beyond sixth grade became a crime for girls in Afghanistan. By December last year, young women found themselves barred from entering their university campuses by armed guards. Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have implemented a system of governance in which women find themselves … Read more
Advertisement The dire state of girls and women in Afghanistan under the Taliban, a tragedy that has featured frequently in international media reports in the last two years, came up for discussion in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on September 27. The UNSC convened for an open briefing, followed by consultations focusing on the … Read more
Magazine Two years into Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the country’s women are not passive victims. They have limited means, but their voices are strong. A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait to receive food rations distributed by a humanitarian aid group in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File Advertisement … Read more
Advertisement On August 15, 2021, the Taliban stormed into Kabul, ousting the U.S.-backed government. Two years later, under the Taliban’s self-styled Islamic Emirate, the group has reinstituted many of the harsh policies that made Afghanistan a global pariah during their first stint in power in the 1990s. In particular, the Taliban have sharply curtailed the … Read more