A new report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is shedding light on the extent of violence against women in Afghanistan. Uncounted and Discounted is based on over 1,300 incidences of violence against Afghan women between January 2003 and June 2005. Among the main conclusions of the report are that women are […]
Taliban Kills Woman and Son in Afghanistan
A woman and her son were killed Monday in Dast Mastan, Afghanistan, by Taliban militants on accusations of spying for local troops and the local government. Both were shot dead and the bodies were hung in the town as a warning to other villagers who might sympathize with the NATO troops stationed in the province […]
‘Close to Anarchy’ in Afghanistan
NATO’s commander in Afghanistan recently described the situation in the country as “close to anarchy,” saying Afghan and coalition forces are “running out of time”. Lt. Gen. David Richards, who will lead NATO as it takes control of the US-led coalition in southern Afghanistan at the end of the month, spoke at a conference in […]
Female Legislator in Afghanistan Attacked by Colleagues
Malalai Joya was physically and verbally attacked by her colleagues in Afghanistan’s parliament yesterday after she said that some of her fellow lawmakers were warlords and shouldn’t be allowed to sit in parliament. “I said there are two kinds of mujahedeed in Afghanistan,” Joya told the Associated Press. “One kind fought for independence, which I […]
New Cabinet in Afghanistan Includes No Women
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s new cabinet currently includes no women. President Karzai did not reappoint the three women who had previously served in his 25-member cabinet. The one woman he did choose to be minister of women’s affairs was rejected by the Afghan parliament. Moreover, Karzai did not appoint any women to the Supreme Court. […]
International Peacekeeping Troops to Increase in Afghanistan
For several years, feminists have urged that the number of international peacekeeping (ISAF) troops in Afghanistan be increased and that they be deployed throughout the nation. The US has now announced that in the summer of 2006 it will reduce its troop presence from 19,000 to 16,500 and transfer power in southern Afghanistan to ISAF, […]
Women’s Rights Editor Jailed in Afghanistan Faces Increasing Threats
Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor of an Afghan women’s rights magazine who was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison, is facing increasing calls for harsher punishments, including a recent fatwa demanding that Nasab repent or be executed. Nasab was arrested and jailed after publishing articles questioning harsh punishments doled out under […]
Women’s Rights Magazine Editor Arrested in Afghanistan
The editor of an Afghan women’s rights monthly magazine was arrested on Saturday in Kabul. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the male editor of Haqooq-i-zan, which means Women’s Rights, was accused of publishing articles that went against Islamic teachings. One of the articles that drew the ire of the conservative Supreme Court raised questions about execution and […]
Girls School Attacked in Afghanistan
An Afghan girls school was attacked yesterday in the Logar province, the most recent in a series of attacks on girls’ education in Afghanistan. Armed men tied up two school guards and set the Padkhwai Raghani School building and two tents on fire. Local men are being questioned, but authorities do not yet know who […]
Woman Aid Worker Released in Afghanistan
Clementina Cantoni, an Italian aid worker abducted May 16 while working for CARE International in Kabul, was released yesterday after being held hostage for 24 days. Cantoni had managed CARE’s “Humanitarian Assistance for Women” project since 2003. At a news conference following her release, Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali told reporters that the negotiations […]
Attacks on Aid Workers Continue in Afghanistan
Eleven Afghans connected to a USAID-funded project have been killed this week in two separate attacks as violence against humanitarian aid workers is escalating daily. Five Afghans working for the US company Chemonics International were killed Wednesday in Helmud Province, according to the Associated Press. Within just 24 hours, six more Afghans with connections to […]
Kofi Annan Calls For Sustained International Support for Afghanistan
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan stressed the need for international assistance for Afghanistan to continue far beyond the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place this September. In a report presented to the United Nations Security Council yesterday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that “a number of post-conflict peace building tasks have yet to be […]
First Woman Appointed Governor in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s first female provincial governor was appointed by President Hamid Karzai last week. Habiba Sorabi, former Minister of Women’s Affairs, has been selected to head the central province of Bamiyan, Afghanistan. According to Agence France Presse, 200 people went to the streets to protest her appointment but were soon overrun by 1,000 supporters who came […]
Afghanistan’s Parliamentary Elections Delayed
The first post-Taliban parliamentary elections that were scheduled to take place in Afghanistan have been postponed due to security and logistical concerns. The elections scheduled to take place in May could be delayed by six months or more, reports BBC News. Joint presidential and parliamentary elections were originally scheduled to take place in June 2004. […]
UN Reports that Afghanistan Could Easily Slip Back Into Chaos
The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) first ever Afghanistan Human Development Report found that while the country has made progress since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan could easily fall back into chaos. According to the UNDP, the basic human needs of the Afghan people, including access to jobs, health, education, dignity, income, […]
Karzai to Appoint First Female Governor in Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will appoint a female provincial governor for the first time in Afghanistan’s history. Karzai will be choosing the governor of the central Bamiyan province from a short list of all-female candidates that includes the former Minister of Women’s Affairs, Habiba Sorabi, reports the Associated Press. Many see the appointment of a […]
Women’s Radio Station Relaunched in Afghanistan; Resources Needed
The Voice of Afghan Women, an Afghan radio station devoted to the interests of women, has been re-launched in Afghanistan. According to BBC News, the radio station first started in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, but lost its funding and was taken off the air. The station’s director, Jamileh Mujahed, was the first […]
Afghanistan’s New Cabinet Includes Three Women
President Hamid Karzai recently announced twenty-seven ministers that will serve in his new Cabinet, including three women. The only female presidential candidate to run in Afghanistan’s first post-Taliban elections, Dr. Masooda Jalal, was named the Minister of Women’s Affairs. Jalal, a medical doctor, was also the only women to run for president of the Interim […]
Female Hostages Released In Afghanistan and Iraq
Three United Nations election workers, two women and a man, were freed unharmed this morning after being abducted from a United Nations vehicle last month in Afghanistan. Shqipe Hebibi from Kosova, Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland, and Angelito Nayan, a Filipino diplomat, were kidnapped on a busy street in Kabul by armed men on October […]
Three Election Workers Abducted in Afghanistan
Three election workers, believed to be two women and a man, were abducted from a United Nations vehicle today in Kabul. The attack has been claimed by a Taliban breakoff group called Jaish-e-Muslimeen (Army of Muslims), according to Reuters. The driver of the car, an Afghan man, was beaten and left behind at the scene, […]