The Taliban recently enacted a sweeping new penal code that explicitly permits husbands to physically punish their wives and children, as long as the abuse does not result in broken bones or open wounds The provision is embedded in a sweeping 119-article decree signed in January by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and circulated to courts […]
Taliban Order Gender Segregation in Hospital Operating Rooms Across Afghanistan
The Taliban have issued a new directive ordering teaching hospitals across Afghanistan to fully segregate male and female medical staff in operating rooms, a move that health professionals warn will further weaken an already strained healthcare system. The Taliban enforced the same policy when they were in power in the late 1990s until they were […]
Taliban’s New Penal Code Institutionalizes Exclusion and Threatens Afghanistan’s Vulnerable Communities
In January, the Taliban released a new law authorizing executions across eleven categories of people. Article 16 gives the Taliban the ability for “discretionary execution” for Taliban-defined crimes such as “armed opposition to the Taliban, promoting beliefs contrary to Islam, sorcery and repeat criminal acts.” The provision’s broad and vague language has sparked serious concerns […]
Taliban’s New Penal Code Codifies Violence, Obedience, and Gender Apartheid
The Taliban has quietly enacted a sweeping new penal code that fundamentally reshapes Afghanistan’s legal system, formalizing violence, criminalizing dissent, legalizing slavery, and stripping women of legal personhood under the guise of religious law. On January 7, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada signed off on the “Penal Principles of Taliban Courts,” a document spanning 119 articles […]
Bogota Implements Care Blocks: A Monumental Shift Away from Unpaid Labor
Bogota, Columbia has been making historic strides towards gender equity by investing in government-provided care labor through programs known as “care blocks.” These “care blocks” provide an opportunity for women to drop off their children to create more free time. With this free time, mothers have an opportunity to run errands, meet with different consultants, […]
The Women Intertwined in Venezuela’s Fate
On January 3, 2026, a military operation carried out by U.S. armed forces in the capital of Venezuela resulted in the capture of Cilia Flores and her husband, President Nicolás Maduro. This has led to an ongoing state of emergency and authoritarian measures, which have impacted political dissent and civil society. Yet much of the […]
A “Trojan Horse” That Wasn’t: Senate Hearing Shows Afghans Are Among the Most Thoroughly Vetted
Last Wednesday in Washington, D.C., lawmakers convened a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine the Biden administration’s Afghan parole program. While national security concerns dominated the discussion, the hearing also made clear that Afghans are among the most thoroughly vetted populations entering the United States. It also underscored the growing uncertainty facing tens of thousands […]
China Increases Tax on Contraceptives in an Attempt to Boost Birth Rate
On January 1st, 2026, China implemented a 13% VAT (value-added tax) on birth control and other forms of contraception to boost birth rates. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has been experiencing a decline in its birth rate, especially over the last three years. This tax move is intended to help boost ‘fertility-friendly’ measures and “love […]
What Australia’s New Social Media Ban May Mean for Young Women
Australia has banned social media accounts for young people under 16. This follows a larger government effort to protect minors, especially young women, from potential harms linked to social media, such as body-image issues, mental health challenges, and sexual exploitation. Australia is now the first country to implement such a ban. Australian Prime Minister Anthony […]
Following Tragic D.C. Shooting, Afghan Allies Face a New Wave of Enforcement and Fear
The shooting in Washington D.C. that left one National Guard member dead and another critically wounded on November 26 quickly became a major focus of U.S. media. Yet, the full picture of what happened tells a very different story from the one now shaping federal policy. The suspect is an Afghan man who once served […]
New Taliban Rule in Afghanistan: No Burqa, No Healthcare for Afghan Women
On November 5, 2025, in Herat, Afghanistan, the Taliban imposed a new edict requiring women to wear a burqa before entering public hospitals. Women patients, visitors, and even medical staff must now wear a burqa to be allowed inside any public healthcare facility. A burqa is a full-body covering that leaves only a small mesh […]
Under Gender Apartheid, Natural Disasters Hit Afghan Women Hardest
While still reeling from the August earthquakes in eastern Afghanistan, the country was hit by another 6.3 magnitude quake in the north on November 3, 2025. The disaster left at least 27 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured across Samangan and Balkh provinces. Afghanistan’s latest earthquake is not only a natural disaster, but a reminder […]
Taliban Claim To “Protect” Women, yet Bar Them From Seeing Male Doctors and Pursuing Medical Training
Maternal mortality in Afghanistan has reached a dire point, a result of a web of interconnected crises. The return of the Taliban and subsequent international aid cuts have created a healthcare collapse where women are the primary victims. Each factor reinforces the other, leaving Afghan women without care and providers. Countless Afghan women and children […]
UN Report Details Deepening Crisis for Afghan Women and Warns Against Normalising Taliban Rule
In a recent report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan delivered his most urgent warning yet, telling the United Nations’ General Assembly that Afghanistan is facing “the most extreme and systematic assault on gender equality in the world today.” In his latest report, Richard Bennett cautioned governments against normalizing […]
Taliban’s Latest Execution in Afghanistan Exposes Ongoing Abuses and Control Through Terror
On October 16, 2025, Taliban publicly executed, Ismail, another Afghan man, convicted of murder, before thousands of spectators at a sports stadium in Badghis province, Afghanistan. In Herat province, a video from August this year captured Taliban fighters kicking the corpse of Mohammad Daud, accused of assassinating a commander, as crowds filmed the desecration, a […]
Taliban Internet Blackouts Sever Afghan Women’s Education and Hope. They Demand Global Action.
In late September, Afghanistan was plunged into a digital darkness. The Taliban government abruptly imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, cutting off millions of Afghans from communication, information, and, for many Afghan women, their final link to education and the outside world. While internet access has been partially restored in Afghanistan, reports from inside the country […]
A Landmark Step Toward Justice: UN Establishes Investigative Mechanism for Afghanistan
The United Nations Human Rights Council has recently approved the creation of an independent investigative mechanism to document, consolidate, and preserve evidence of international crimes and human rights violations committed in Afghanistan. The resolution, which was adopted by consensus on October 6, 2025, marks a turning point in the global response to Afghanistan’s deepening crisis […]
Deported with Nothing: The Human Toll of Forced Returns to Afghanistan
Since January 2025, Pakistan and Iran have been forcibly deporting Afghans back to Afghanistan. About 1.86 million Afghans have been forced to leave Iran, while 314,000 have returned from Pakistan. The large-scale repatriation of Afghans raises numerous health concerns, as many returnees face serious medical risks resulting from the difficult journey back to Afghanistan. With […]
Afghan Women Face Internet Blackout as Taliban Tightens Control
Afghanistan has been plunged into a sweeping Internet blackout once again. The Taliban first restricted internet access in mid-September 2025, banning fiber-optic (WiFi/wired) connections in some provinces, citing the need to “prevent immorality.” Local Taliban officials said the order was decreed by the group’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, and enforced across government offices, businesses, institutions, […]
Taliban’s 5-Year Strategic Plan Excludes Women. Afghan Women Push Back.
Taliban recently revealed a 5-year development plan for Afghanistan with three pillars, including economic and social development, governance and international relations, and security and public order. Fifteen key initiatives under these pillars include sectors such as agriculture, provision of energy, and development of education amongst many more areas targeting the country’s growth in the coming […]