Stories from South Asia
Fears are growing for a photojournalist who has been detained by the Taliban for more than three weeks after being arrested while covering the women’s protests in Herat. Morteza Samadi, 21, a freelance photographer, was one of several journalists who were arrested […]
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 […]
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 […]
It is past midnight in Kabul, but the phones of 180 Afghan women ping as messages arrive and screens light up with the persistent chatter of resistance against Taliban rule. Few on the WhatsApp group share their real names, and […]
In a matter of hours, Sara’s perfect teenage life turned upside down on August 15 as the Taliban marched into her city and took control of Afghanistan. “I knew things were bad, but I didn’t imagine that my Kabul would fall […]
Tuesday’s announcement of the Taliban’s Cabinet to rule Afghanistan belied the militant group’s claims that it would include women and ethnic minorities. The Cabinet does not include any women or people from the Hazara minority, and largely consists of Taliban leaders with many members […]
The Taliban on Tuesday named its first government since taking over Afghanistan three weeks ago, led by old faces prominent in the 20-year fight against the US. Members of the previous administration, women and Afghanistan’s complex ethnic groups are absent from the list, despite […]
Taliban fighters in Kabul fired warning shots and beat protesters demonstrating against the militant group on Tuesday, as unrest broke out in cities across the country. Eyewitnesses in Kabul told The National that several women were injured after taking part in the […]
Fahim Dashti, spokesman of the anti-Taliban resistance in Afghanistan, was killed in Panjshir province on Sunday, sources from the National Resistance Front told The National. While details of his death were unclear, one source revealed that Gen Abdul Wadood was also […]