The Afghanistan Women’s Movement Network has condemned Aisha Wahab’s position on the need for diplomacy and relations with Afghanistan under Taliban rule, saying that moving towards formal relations while women’s rights are being suppressed would contribute to the normalisation of the Taliban.

CIVICUS Monitor says women protesters in Afghanistan mainly hold their protests in homes and other enclosed spaces to reduce the risk of identification, but even these secret protests expose them to surveillance, arbitrary arrest and violence.

Local sources in Herat say Nawidullah Fitrat, a university lecturer in the province, has been arrested by Taliban forces.

The United Nations says around 3.7 million children in Afghanistan are affected by a dangerous form of malnutrition known as “acute wasting”, with nearly one million suffering from its most severe and life-threatening form.