Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesperson, said recently there were more than 20,000 religious schools operating across the country, providing religious instruction to more than two million people.
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Under new Taliban laws, a husband is allowed to beat his wife as long as it is not done with ‘obscene force’, which the woman must prove in court.
Published in Partnership with The Guardian
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Sabera is driven on by the memory of her father, who was killed by Taliban insurgents before the group returned to power in 2021. After his death, she said, she vowed not to remain silent in the face of the men who had taken him from her.
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🖋️ Behind every story is a voice longing to be heard. This International Women's Day, we spotlight the courageous work of @rukhshanamedia.bsky.social and its founder, @zahrajoya.bsky.social, who defy threats to tell Afghan women's stories.
Rukhshana Media has spoken to around a dozen families about the sacrifices they have made to keep their girls in education since the ban was implemented more than four years ago.
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Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, warned against a policy of tolerance towards the Taliban’s violations of the rights of women and girls while speaking at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
In the ancient citadel that towers over the historic Afghan city of Herat, a group of women sits at a table, paintbrushes in hand and heavy in concentration.
rukhshana.com/en/how-afgha...
Today, Kabul is no longer a city where red roses adorn flower shop windows on the eve of Valentine’s Day, and cafés are filled with lovers. Now, even saying a simple “I love you” can get you into trouble.
rukhshana.com/en/from-secr...
Residents say that around a third of the 300 people who have worked on the project to connect the central provinces of Daikundi, Uruzgan and Ghazni to the capital, Kabul, were women.
Every winter, they risk being cut off by deep snow and unable to access the city for crucial medical services, trade and other essentials.
Read more:https://rukhshana.com/en/digging-for-development-how-hazara-women-are-helping-to-build-a-road-for-their-community/
They read not for entertainment but, as they put it, to understand life and the world around them. They call their group “women with books and imagination”.
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These are among the punishments laid out in a new criminal code that has been officially adopted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
rukhshana.com/en/how-the-t...
Many female journalists have fled Afghanistan since the Taliban took over in 2021, unable to work or even live their lives freely. This is the story of one who returned, told in her own words.
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A young Afghan woman has been arrested by the Taliban’s morality police while secretly training girls in taekwondo.
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A female journalist has been detained by Taliban intelligence forces in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz, sources close to her family said.
rukhshana.com/en/taliban-a...
When the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan closed amid escalating tensions between the two neighbours, Somaya Nadari’s mother lost access to the treatment that had been keeping her alive.
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When Medina’s sister went into labour in November, her family took her to the main provincial hospital in Sar-e Pol. There, they were told she needed a caesarean section, but that no specialist was available to carry one out.
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Appearing on stage at the opening of his exhibition wearing a burqa, he declared: “Wherever a woman’s body is controlled, everyone’s freedom is in danger.”
rukhshana.com/en/i-felt-su...
Before the regime change, I worked as a teacher in a girls’ secondary school. I had a calm and modest life. My salary was not very high, but at least my children went to bed with full stomachs.
rukhshana.com/en/from-teac...
Families would go there to worship, often bringing food to cook and eat together. A section of the mosque was dedicated women-only.
Rukhshana Media sent a reporter to the shrine to investigate the reports. This is what he saw:
rukhshana.com/en/you-shoul...
Alex Crawford explained the difficulties of reporting from the ground, with 90 percent of journalist visa applications being refused by the Taliban over the last four years.
rukhshana.com/en/how-can-t...
As the world marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women this week, I spoke with the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett about the dire situation facing women and girls.
rukhshana.com/en/we-must-b...
Laila with three children to bring up alone, she found work cooking and cleaning – until that, too, was taken away when the Taliban came to power. Desperate, she went to those in authority to seek their help feeding her family.
rukhshana.com/en/nowhere-t...
Rukhshana Media has documented 117 cases of women dying either by suicide or at the hands of a family member or stranger in the 12 months since November 25 last year. The true figure is likely to be much higher.
rukhshana.com/en/violence-...
A small domestic crisis provided the first spark that ignited a new career for Setara. She was home alone one night when the power went out, and she realised she had no clue how to fix the problem.
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Since it was introduced last Wednesday, women seeking treatment have been turned away from hospitals because they weren’t wearing the burqa, while access to government services has also been affected, causing widespread distress and triggering protest.
rukhshana.com/en/taliban-i...
Three years on, Raihana still bears the physical scars of the attack on the Kaj Educational Centre in western Kabul. Her back still carries burn marks and her left leg is scarred by shrapnel.
rukhshana.com/en/all-my-dr...
Within hours Karishma, who was widowed three years ago, had appeared in court on unspecified charges and been sent to Kabul’s notorious Pul-e-Charkhi jail, Afghanistan’s largest high-security prison.
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“My heart was pounding as we put up the posters. I was terrified that the Taliban might catch and imprison us, or that we might be recognised through security cameras,” she said.
rukhshana.com/en/from-kabu...
They say they are protecting our “honor,” our “values,” but let’s be honest — they are protecting their fear.
They’re terrified of a woman who can think. Because once a woman begins to think, she begins to question.
rukhshana.com/en/they-shou...
