Recently, the United Nations Security Council met to discuss the issue of gender apartheid in Afghanistan and compel the Taliban to stop policies of gender apartheid. Issues of human rights and women’s rights are fading from the global landscape’s attention. It is more important than ever to continue to fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan […]
China’s Ambassador to Afghanistan as a Catalyst to Slippery Slope of International Recognition for Taliban
Recently, China announced its new ambassador to Afghanistan, Zhao Xing, who presented himself at a lavish ceremony in Kabul last week. He is the first foreign envoy to occupy an ambassador position since the Taliban took power in August 2021. The Taliban has not been officially recognized by any government, but they celebrated this moment […]
Human Rights Crimes Against Former Government Officials Further Solidifies Taliban’s Grip of Power on Afghanistan
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan released a report recently calling attention to several instances of human rights violations by the Taliban against former government officials across 34 different provinces in the country, with the greatest occurring in Kabul. To date, there have been at least 800 instances of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture […]
“Immeasurably Cruel” Oppression of Afghan Women and a Further Collapse of Human Rights
The United Nations Rights Chief accused the Taliban of a “shocking level of oppression” of women and girls, and said that more broadly, human rights in the country were in “collapse.” The observation and fulfillment of human rights in Afghanistan has been in steady decline since the takeover of the government by the Taliban in […]
What is “Freedom” to the Taliban? The Taliban’s Constricted Vision for Afghanistan’s Future.
The Taliban has remained firm and doubled down on its vision for the future of Afghanistan. Since its takeover of the Afghan government 2 years ago, it established a de facto government, composed of different ministries to impose their interpretation of an “Islamic” rule and rollback the achievements of the former government. The Taliban has […]
Ethnic and Religious Minorities Face Systemic Discrimination Under Taliban Rule in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s rise to power in 2021 raised concerns about their treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in the country, who had been persecuted during the first Taliban regime. Shi’ite Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, and other religious minorities suffer systemic discrimination under Taliban rule. In the 1980s, there were around 100,000 Hindus and Sikhs across the […]
The Costly Price of Gender Apartheid: Afghanistan’s Brain Drain in the Face of Taliban Rule
Afghanistan faces a bleak future as the Taliban’s oppressive regime takes hold, exacerbating the country’s brain drain crisis, with educated Afghans seeking safety elsewhere, leaving behind a fractured society struggling to retain its intellectual capital. Many Afghans have sooner or later come to realize that the Taliban’s empty promises of a reformed leadership were crafted […]
A Lack of Strategy for US Foreign Policy in Afghanistan Means an Uncertain Future for Both Countries
Since its withdrawal from the country in August 2021 and the return of the Taliban, the US has lacked a comprehensive foreign policy strategy for Afghanistan. This sentiment has been made especially clear in the meeting that State Department representatives attended in Doha to negotiate with Taliban representatives. This was the first known meeting between […]
Afghan Girls Above Age 10 are Barred from Primary Schools in Afghanistan, Casting a Shadow on Education
Girls over the age of 10 have been banned from attending primary school in Afghanistan in the latest edict issued by the Taliban-led Ministry of Education. Taliban leaders met with school principals in certain provinces and told them strictly that “any girl over 10 years of age is not allowed to study in primary schools.” […]
Unveiling Tyranny: Taliban’s Decree restricts women’s movement & Deepens Gender Apartheid
In its latest decree, the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice stated that women must observe the full “hijab” in order to ride in taxi vehicles. The decree not only targets Afghan women, but penalizes male guardians of women who defy the Taliban’s policing of women’s lives and face punishment […]
Amnesty Denied for Prosecutors Marks a Growing Threat to Afghanistan’s Judicial System
In response to a recent claim by Taliban officials that there are no threats against prosecutors or judges in Afghanistan, the International Organization for Transitional Justice and Peace (ITJP) has released a statement outlining the very real threat that members of the justice system face. In the statement, ITJP disputes the claim made by the […]
Afghan Journalists in Jeopardy and the Taliban’s Tightening Grip on Media Freedom
The Taliban has halted local TV network’s broadcasts in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. Hamesha Bahar TV and Radio network was the outlet targeted in a Taliban raid of the office on Monday. This is not an isolated incident, nor the first of its kind, as the media outlet had a similar situation and treatment […]
US officials and Taliban leaders engage in talks in Qatar amid mounting concerns over normalization of the Taliban
Amidst a backdrop of heightened tensions and uncertainties, US officials and Taliban leaders met in Qatar for two days. In an announcement made by the head of its political office in Doha, the Taliban revealed that talks commenced between a Taliban delegation and US representatives on July 30. While engagement is deemed necessary, especially to […]
The Political Offside: Politics Takes the Field in Afghan Women’s Fight to Play Soccer
Thousands gathered at a stadium in Brisbane to watch Australia’s World Cup match against Nigeria. Among the crowd, sitting close to the pitch were players from the Afghan women’s national team, who are now exiled. They dream of representing their country again, as they have done in the past. Currently, however, the national team is […]
Taliban Torches Music Instruments in Kabul, Setting Culture and Music Ablaze
The Taliban-led Ministry of Vice and Virtue says its officials burned down musical instruments which were collected nationwide over the past few months and which were used “for the promotion of music and corruption.” They were destroyed according to the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law. The Ministry of Vice and Virtue did not provide any […]
Afghan women face economic challenges—three personal stories of resilience and hardship amidst Taliban bans.
In a feature story by the Afghanistan Analysts Network, three resilient Afghan women open up about their experiences enduring economic hardships under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Despite different backgrounds, these women share a common thread – they all face the oppressive bans imposed by the Taliban prohibiting them from employment and numerous other opportunities. […]
The Taliban has reportedly agreed to relocate the TTP within its borders. Many fear a rise in ethnic tension and terrorism as a result.
The Pakistani government has come to an agreement with the Taliban for the approximately 4,000 Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members along the border of the two countries to be relocated to northern Afghanistan. These militants form a distinct extremist group commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, created in 2007, that is considered an offshoot and […]
Afghanistan’s Judicial System Takes Another Hit as the Taliban Abolishes the Attorney General’s Office
In a recent attack on Afghanistan’s judicial system, the Taliban has abolished the Attorney General’s Office. Instead, they have replaced it with the “Directorate of Supervision and Prosecution of Decrees and Orders” which is designed to ensure the implementation of the Taliban’s orders in public and private life. The provided explanation for this change was […]
The Taliban officials confirmed that only men will take the university entrance exams. Afghan women and men demand equal access to education for the sake of Afghanistan’s future.
The National Examination Authority (NEXA) in Afghanistan announced that only male students can attend the university entrance examination this year. This came from a letter written by the Ministry of Higher Education stating that only male students should be recruited to universities. This removal of women from society will negatively impact the country, many women […]
“We are here for justice.” Afghan Women Take to the Streets to Protest Against Latest Taliban Edicts
Dozens of women took to the streets in Kabul on Wednesday to protest against the Taliban’s closing of women’s beauty salons. The order forces thousands of beauty parlors across the country, run by women, to close. The Taliban government has banned women from high schools and universities, parks, gyms, working for NGOs, and in the […]
