The official rule: no secondary school for girls. But behind a veil of secrecy, women are opening small schools so that at least some of these teenagers are able to continue learning
As members of the middle class have fallen into poverty in the wake of the Taliban takeover, families are no longer able to serve sumptuous repasts on their traditional dining rugs.
The disaster inflicted by the quake heaps more misery on a country where millions face increasing hunger and poverty and the health system has been crumbling since the Taliban retook power last year.
The disaster inflicted by the quake heaps more misery on a country where millions face increasing hunger and poverty and the health system has been crumbling since the Taliban retook power last year.
The hardest hit areas were remote farming villages in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika. "All the village completely is destroyed," said one man, showing collapsed homes on a cell phone video.
After the group retook power in the country in 2021, it banned poppy cultivation. Now it's tearing the plants out, field by field. But farmers and workers worry there's no money in other crops.
Male anchors in Afghanistan are wearing masks on air in solidarity with their female colleagues. This is the latest Taliban order to threaten the freedoms and careers of Afghan women.
The order came from the Taliban's Virtue and Vice Ministry as well as from the Information and Culture Ministry. Earlier this month, the Taliban ordered women in public to wear head-to-toe clothing.
Women in Afghanistan continue to experience more restrictions under the Taliban, including the return of the burqa. NPR's Scott Simon notes how the world seems to be distracted from their plight.
The decree, which calls for women in Afghanistan to show only their eyes and recommends they wear the burqa, evoked similar restrictions during the Taliban's previous rule.
For 9 months, teen girls have been pretty much unable to go to school. Protests have been shut down. Now clerics — including some affiliated with the Taliban – are urging an end to the school ban.
After the Taliban takeover, family members — even spouses — were sometimes separated during U.S. evacuation efforts. Now a global network of volunteers are trying to bring out those left behind.
The rulers' decision — reneging on a previous promise — came at the start of the new school year in Afghanistan and risks further alienating the international community.
