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Stories from South Asia

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Can Afghanistan’s underground “sneakernet” survive the Taliban?

When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August, Mohammad Yasin had to make some difficult decisions very quickly. As the country reeled from the shock of the insurgent takeover, the 21-year-old—whose name has been changed to protect his safety—snuck into […]

In Afghanistan, Climate Change Drives an Uptick in Child Marriage

IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR, Rabia and her two young daughters were forced to leave their home in northern Afghanistan. While facing the threat of increased violence, their village was also in the midst of a severe drought that strained the […]

‘We planted a seed’: the Afghan artists who painted for freedom 

Negina Azimi felt shock and fear like never before when she heard that Taliban fighters had entered Kabul on 15 August. As an outspoken female artist in Afghanistan, she knew they would come for her. “We heard reports that the Taliban […]

What I Learned as a Health Care Reporter in Afghanistan

YEARS BEFORE BECOMING a journalist, I learned about Afghanistan as a child growing up in Mumbai. Afghanistan holds a significant place in Indian history and mythology, and in school, I learned about places like the ancient region of Gandhara — located […]

How Gen Z is Fighting for Afghanistan’s Future

Everything that 19-year-old Zahra* knew about the Taliban, she learned from Khaled Hosseini’s novels. “My parents didn’t tell me much about what it was like for them living under [the] Taliban because they were protecting me. But I knew about […]

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#Afghanistan#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021

Calls for release of Kabul University professor detained by Taliban

10/01/202208/07/2022

Supporters of a prominent university professor, and one of Afghanistan’s most vocal critics of the Taliban, are calling for his release after he was arrested on Saturday. Faizullah Jalal, a professor at Kabul University, was detained by the Taliban after the group […]

#Afghanistan#Conflict#Evacuations#Refugees#Taliban Siege 2021#Women

Women judges and lawyers who fled Taliban rule refuse to give up

10/01/202208/07/2022

In the brightly lit lobby of an Albanian hotel hosting Afghan refugees, a group of women gather to discuss how to counter the repressive rules introduced by the Taliban. The group includes Afghan lawyers and prosecutors who are among about […]

#Afghanistan#Art#Conflict#Evacuations#Refugees#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021

Afghanistan’s refugee artists bring the colours of Kabul to Albania

04/01/202208/07/2022

Every night, after putting his 2-year-old son to bed, Muhajir sits down in the corner of his family’s small room in a refugee centre in Albania and starts writing in a notebook. For months he has been documenting his family’s […]

#Afghanistan#Conflict#Kabul#Peace Process#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021#Withdrawal

‘We kept fighting’: Afghan soldier recalls political failures behind Kabul disaster

02/01/202208/07/2022

On the afternoon of August 15, the day Kabul fell to the Taliban, Ahmad Javid, a 37-year-old soldier in the Afghan security forces, was preparing to head north to test a new weapon system that his unit had finished training on the day […]

#Afghanistan#Children#Conflict#Education#Features#Kandahar#Taliban Siege 2021

Against the odds: these Afghan bikers are promoting girls’ education

14/12/202115/06/2022

It was a chilly Friday afternoon when an extended roar of more than two dozen motorbikes pierced the silence in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. To an outsider, the sudden invasion earlier this month by a large group of men on […]

#Afghan Food#Afghanistan#Economy#Taliban Siege 2021

Taliban prime minister shocks Afghans by brushing aside famine fears

28/11/202115/06/2022

Taliban Prime Minister Mohammed Hassan Akhund has been criticised by Afghans and the international community over comments he made on the country’s worsening famine crisis. In his first speech since the extremist group took control of Afghanistan in August, Mr Akhund addressed the nation […]

#Afghanistan#Features#Latest#Music#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021#Technology

Can Afghanistan’s underground “sneakernet” survive the Taliban?

26/11/202115/06/2022

When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August, Mohammad Yasin had to make some difficult decisions very quickly. As the country reeled from the shock of the insurgent takeover, the 21-year-old—whose name has been changed to protect his safety—snuck into […]

#Afghanistan#Art#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021#Women

Taliban’s TV ban for women: ‘It’s as if we don’t exist in Afghanistan’

24/11/202115/06/2022

Afghan television personalities say the Taliban’s new rules controlling women on screen will exclude half of the population from popular culture. The Taliban’s reinstated Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice issued eight guidelines on Sunday, including a […]

#Afghanistan#Climate Change#Conflict#Features#Latest#Taliban#Women

In Afghanistan, Climate Change Drives an Uptick in Child Marriage

17/11/202115/06/2022

IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR, Rabia and her two young daughters were forced to leave their home in northern Afghanistan. While facing the threat of increased violence, their village was also in the midst of a severe drought that strained the […]

#Afghanistan#Taliban#Taliban Siege 2021#Violence Against Women#Women

A surgeon who helps burned Afghan women is now in hiding, afraid for her life

13/11/202115/06/2022

At 32 years old, Dr. K is old enough to remember the first time the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1995. She was 7 when girls were banned from school. “For years, my mother ensured that we continued our […]

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