Life for single mothers in Afghanistan has always been marred by stigma and poverty. Now with the Taliban in control, what few protections they had have disappearedThe day after Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh province, fell to the Tali…
Taliban name all-male Afghan cabinet including minister wanted by FBI
Country will once again be officially known as an Islamic emirate, as at least two people killed in protestsThe Taliban have announced an all-male caretaker government including an interior minister wanted by the FBI, on a day when at least two people …
The Taliban are showing us the dangers of personal data falling into the wrong hands
Digital ID systems are a powerful development tool, providing a legal identity to millions, but their misuse can be deadlyThe Taliban have openly talked about using US-made digital identity technology to hunt down Afghans who have worked with the inter…
‘Our children are hungry’: economic crisis pushes Afghans to desperation
Afghans forced to sell possessions on streets of Mazar-e-Sharif as fragile economy buckles under instabilityYasemeen sits in the back of an open trailer with a bundle of her family’s old clothes wrapped in scarves and some used notebooks already full o…
Beyond Kabul, a humanitarian crisis is developing in Afghanistan | Astrid Sletten
As an aid worker, I can see first-hand how a perfect storm of conflict, drought and Covid has gripped the countryIt felt surreal to be flying into Kabul international airport rather than out, crossing paths with families who were trying to flee. For th…
Taliban break up Afghan women’s rights march with gunfire
Militia members fire shots into air and demonstrator says they also used teargas and stun gunsTaliban fighters have broken up a women’s rights march in Kabul with gunfire as bitter fighting continued in Afghanistan’s last rebel holdout and the US army’…
The west must engage with the Taliban and provide financial support
The gains of the past 20 years in Afghanistan will be lost unless we keep funding social infrastructureAfghanistan is on the brink of economic meltdown. Millions of people are going hungry. Teachers and doctors are going unpaid. The social infrastructu…
Afghan musicians silently await their fate as Taliban’s ban looms
Amid upheaval across the country, it remains unclear whether a new government will forbid music as it did 25 years agoThe shutters have been down all along Kharabat Street, the storied heart of Afghan musical life, since the Taliban swept into Kabul in…
Dominic Raab hits back at defence secretary’s Afghanistan remarks
Labour calls for an end to ‘unseemly infighting at the top of government’ after response to Ben WallaceDominic Raab has hit back at his cabinet colleague Ben Wallace’s assertion that he knew the “game was up” in Afghanistan by July, escalating the tens…
Some slept, some cried, all were now refugees: inside one of the last Afghan airlifts
Those on board the cramped military plane weren’t granted a last glimpse of their homeland before the difficult journey ahead, while all knew thousands still waited desperately belowThe American marine shouted “push!”. And hundreds of people did, shovi…