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KABUL, July 4, 2023 (AFP) – Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have ordered beauty parlours across the country to shut within a month, the vice ministry confirmed Tuesday, the latest curb to squeeze women out of public life. The order will force the closure of thousands of businesses run by women — often the only source of income for households — and outlaw one of the few remaining opportunities for them to socialise away from home. “I […]
Washington, United States (AFP) — The Taliban government has killed the alleged mastermind of a devastating suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport during the chaotic withdrawal of US forces in 2021, the White House said Tuesday. The bomber detonated among packed crowds at the airport’s perimeter as they tried to flee Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. The blast killed some 170 Afghans and 13 US troops who were securing the airport for the traumatic […]
by Estelle Emonet and Jay Deshmukh Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Aid groups say they have been “pushed against a wall” by the Taliban prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs, a ban that has left a dangerous gap in life-saving support. Afghanistan’s NGOs have been instrumental in trying to address one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with half the country’s population hungry and three million children at risk of malnutrition. “It is […]
by David FOX and Estelle EMONET Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — An Afghan man convicted of murder was executed in public Wednesday, the Taliban said, the first confirmation of such a punishment since the hardline Islamists returned to power. Last month, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered judges to fully enforce aspects of Islamic law that include public executions, stonings and floggings, and the amputation of limbs from thieves. They have carried out several […]
by Jay Deshmukh and Aysha Safi Agence France Presse Kandahar, Afghanistan (AFP) — Thirteen-year-old Zainab should have been shopping for a new school uniform this autumn but, with no prospect of girls’ schools reopening in Afghanistan, she was instead forced to pick out a wedding dress. Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul and banned teenage girls from education, many have been married off — often to much older men of their father’s choice. “I […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Afghan women made an impassioned plea at the UN Monday for solid international action to address the “gender apartheid” in their country since the Taliban swept to power last year. “Today, human rights in Afghanistan do not exist,” Afghan Mahbouba Seraj told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The outspoken journalist and rights activist said she was “sick and tired” of sounding the alarm […]
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A Black Hawk helicopter commandeered by the Taliban after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan crashed during a training session at the weekend, killing two pilots and a crew member, the defense ministry said. The incident occurred Saturday on the campus of the country’s defense university in the capital Kabul. The Black Hawk crashed due to “a technical problem during a training exercise”, the ministry said, adding five crew members were […]
by By Emmanuel Peuchot and Abdullah Hasrat Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Gul Agha Jalali used to spend his nights planting bombs — hoping to target an Afghan government soldier or, better still, a foreign serviceman. These days, the 23-year-old Taliban member is studying English and has enrolled in a computer science course in the capital, Kabul. “When our country was occupied by infidels, we needed bombs, mortars and guns,” says Jalali, an employee […]
by Aysha Safi Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Days after the Taliban staged a cruel U-turn on allowing Afghan girls back to school, Adeeba Haidari feels as if she is in prison. The 13-year-old was one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country on Wednesday, for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August. But just hours into classes, the education ministry […]
by Jay DESHMUKH and Aysha SAFI Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – Groups of girls headed back to class in the Afghan capital Wednesday after Taliban authorities announced the reopening of secondary schools, more than seven months after seizing power and imposing harsh restrictions on the rights of women to be educated. All schools were closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic when the Taliban took over last August — but only boys and some younger […]
by Cyril Belaud with AFP bureaus around the world Agence France-Presse ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) – Afghan embassies around the world that have refused to recognise the new Taliban regime are struggling to stay afloat and facing increasing pressure from Kabul to accept loyalist replacements. None of the country’s 60 or so ambassadors, consuls or heads of diplomatic missions who were appointed by Western-backed former president Ashraf Ghani have agreed to serve the hardline Islamist group […]
by Rouba EL HUSSEINI Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) – One after the other, quickly, carefully, keeping their heads down, a group of Afghan women step into a small Kabul apartment block — risking their lives as a nascent resistance against the Taliban. They come together to plan their next stand against the hardline Islamist regime, which took back power in Afghanistan in August and stripped them of their dreams. At first, there were no […]
