She entered the maternity ward of Herat Regional Hospital with great hope. It was meant to be the place where her child’s life began, but it became the end of a dream.

A number of citizens in different provinces of Afghanistan say the Taliban are using mosques, domestic media, the education system and street surveillance to shape society according to their own interpretations and laws.

Sometimes I think that perhaps the heaviest thing an Afghan migrant carries is not a passport, a visa or even the suitcase brought from home. The heaviest burden is being Afghan.

The Taliban’s disaster management authority has announced that at least 20 people have died following heavy rainfall and flooding in Parun, the capital of Nuristan, and several other areas of the province.