Afghanistan Is Trying to Save Its Child Bombers
In a room full of loud teenagers, 17-year-old Mohammad Ehsan is the quietest. (The names of the boys in this piece have been changed to protect their identities.) The other boys in this juvenile ...
The largest gathering of Afghanistan’s loya jirga or grand assembly, convened by President Ashraf Ghani to discuss peace with the Taliban, ended on Friday with a unanimous call for the insurgents to observe an immediate and permanent ceasefire. The loya jirga is a traditional method of reaching a democratic consensus among Afghans on matters of...
The increasing pace of negotiations between the United States administration and the Taliban had renewed hope among many Afghans that perhaps an end to decades of war in Afghanistan may finally be in sight. For those observing the developments of the last few months, one of the sure signs that negotiations were moving to a desired conclusion...
Suicide bombers and gunmen laid siege to the building of the Afghan Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) in Kabul on Saturday afternoon, killing at least eight people in an assault that destroyed weeks of relative calm in the capital. The hours-long attack also left at least 10 more wounded, according to the Afghan...
Raj Narayan Jha rises before dawn on most days of the year to go to his job as a chowkidar, or watchman, at a gated community in suburban Mumbai. After 12 hours on duty, often under the scorching Indian sun or in heavy monsoon showers, he heads off to another six-hour at a local factory....
For the fourth time in less than two months, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comments on the peace process have not only made the Afghan government protest, but also caused outrage among Afghans across the political spectrum. In the first week of April, during a rally in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan, Mr. Khan reiterated an...
When catwalk model Reshma Qureshi offers makeup tips, her online tutorials end with the message that an eyeliner or lipstick is just as easy to buy in India as a pot of over-the-counter acid. The point, coming from a woman who was left disfigured and partially sighted by an acid attack, has already proved so powerful that...
The fifth phase of meetings between Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S.’s special envoy for peace, and Taliban leaders concluded earlier this month. Very little has been revealed about the nature of the proposed deal between the two parties, raising serious concerns among Afghans, especially women, who suffered greatly the last time the Taliban had control over...
Known for having imposed strict laws in the country in the mid-1990s, the Taliban's possible return in the Afghan power structure makes a lot of women uncomfortable.
“Khosh amadee!” Omaid Sharifi, co-founder of ArtLords, an art collective, says as he invites us into his house in a manner that reflects true Afghan hospitality—with grace, a smile and open arms. The phrase is in the local language of Dari. Used to mean “welcome,” it literally translates to “come with happiness” – which is...
The day she was flogged by members of the Taliban, Maryam was making her way to the local bazaar to shop for groceries – her face uncovered. The 32-year-old housewife was born and raised in Afghanistan’s Sancharak district in Sar-i-pul – a northern province, where the Taliban shadow police has tried for some time to...
