Taliban

Pact Act is Vindication for Vets after US Denied for Years that Burn Pits in Afghanistan and Iraq made them Ill

By Jason A. Higgins, Virginia Tech | – During a 13-month stint in Iraq that began in 2006, Heath Robinson served as a medic with the Ohio National Guard. Like thousands of others soldiers stationed there, he was routinely exposed to toxic smoke emanating from what are known as burn pits. Located near military bases, […]

Afghanistan

The volunteers risking their lives to secretly educate Afghanistan’s girls

Open Democracy

By Deepa Parent | – ( OpenDemocracy.net) – In 2002, when Matiullah Wesa was a teenager, armed gunmen burned his school. It was this, he told openDemocracy, that led him to dedicate his life to ensuring other children in Afghanistan can get an education. Wesa is the co-founder and president of PenPath, an NGO that […]

Afghanistan

Taliban in Power – One Year On

Middle East Monitor

By Amina Khan | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – On 15 August 2021, the world looked on with trepidation as the situation in Afghanistan reached a critical juncture with the Afghan Taliban assuming power in the country. The takeover was swift, and relatively peaceful, with little resistance from the masses, followed by the […]

Afghanistan

Afghan Women are refusing to remain Silent One Year after the Taliban Takeover

The Conversation

By Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University and Mona Tajali, Agnes Scott College | – (The Conversation) – On Aug. 15, it will be a year since the Taliban’s forceful takeover of Afghanistan for a second time. In the past year, we have witnessed a rapid return to the religious conservative rule and violation of women’s rights […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Taliban’s Catastrophic Year of Rule

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch – (New York) – The Taliban have broken multiple pledges to respect human rights and women’s rights since taking over Afghanistan a year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. After capturing Kabul on August 15, 2021, Taliban authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily […]

Afghanistan

War as Terrorism: Conflicts We Can’t Win, Suffering We Don’t See

Andrea Mazzarino

( Tomdispatch.com) – Anyone who grew up in my generation of 1980s kids remembers G.I. Joe action figures — those green-uniformed plastic soldiers you could use to stage battles in the sandbox in your backyard or, for that matter, your bedroom. In those days, when imagery of bombed-out homes, bloodied civilians, and police violence wasn’t […]

Afghanistan

Free Her Face’: Male Afghan Journalists Don Masks, Express Solidarity With Female Colleagues

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi | – (RFL/RE ) – Male Afghan TV presenters have donned face masks on air in a show of solidarity with female colleagues who were ordered by the Taliban to cover their faces. The Taliban issued a decree earlier this month that ordered women to cover their faces in public by […]

Afghanistan

Central Asian Stans Fear Afghan Militancy while their Russian Ally is Bogged down in Ukraine

Global Voices

By Zhar Zardykhan | – Read this post in Malagasy ( GlobalVoices.org) – On May 8, 2022, the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan reported that they are investigating Islamic State (IS) rockets attack on Tajikistan from Afghanistan’s Takhar Province, as IS admitted firing eight rockets on May 7 towards “unspecified military targets in Tajikistan.” In reaction, […]

Afghanistan

Afghan Women Activists protest against Taliban’s new Burqa Decree

Open Democracy

By Deepa Parent | – ( OpenDemocracy.net ) – “You are all loose women for protesting against the burqa. Why don’t you want to cover your bodies? You are not Muslims,” a Taliban fighter yelled at Zoya* when she led a march of 20 women in Kabul on Tuesday. Zoya, 38, a women’s rights activist […]