Women and girls in remote areas of Herat province have complained about the lack of access to healthcare services, stating that the absence of doctors and the distance from health centers have led to the death of many patients, particularly pregnant women during childbirth. File photo: U.S. Department of Defense / DVIDS / Public Domain Women's Mortality Due to Lack of Access to Healthcare Services in Afghanistan December 19, 2024 Ariahn Raya Women and girls in remote areas of Herat province have complained about the lack of access to healthcare services, stating that the absence of doctors and the distance from health centers have led to the death of many patients, particularly pregnant women during childbirth. These women have emphasized the need for the establishment of healthcare centers and have called on the Taliban's Directorate of Public Health in the province to take serious action in setting up health centers to save the lives of women and girls in remote areas of this province. Ozra, a 67-year-old elderly woman from the Farsi district of Herat province, sits in a corner of a tent and says that due to the lack of healthcare centers and midwives, most pregnant women experience horrific and abnormal childbirths. She told Zan TV: "Pregnant women here live in fear before childbirth, afraid they might die because we have no doctors or clinics. Six months ago, my daughter-in-law died during childbirth. We were poor and couldn’t afford to take her to the city. She gave birth at home, and in the end, both she and her baby died." Nazanin, a 19-year-old who has been married for a year, pleads with the Taliban to establish a healthcare center in her area to save her life and the life of the child she is carrying. She says, "Every morning when I wake up, I thank God that I didn’t go into labor during the night. I am terrified that if my baby is born at night, either I will die or my baby will. We don’t have a vehicle to take me to the hospital in Herat city. As you can see in this village, there are no doctors or medicine. I urge the government to build a clinic for us." Meanwhile, Kubra, a resident of Chesht district in Herat province, who ill and lies bedridden in a corner of her home, Complaining about the remoteness of the district's health center, she says that on one hand, economic difficulties have prevented her from going to private hospitals, and on the other hand, she has no access to free health centers. "It's been two weeks that my whole body has been in pain. At first, I had a headache, but now my entire body hurts. I didn’t have money to go to a doctor because the cost of the doctor and medicine is too high. There is no clinic in the village to give me free medicine either." Women in remote areas of Herat province complain about the lack of access to healthcare services and the absence of midwives in their regions. This comes as the Taliban, in December of this year, banned girls from attending medical institutes—a restriction that has sparked strong reactions from national and international organizations.

Zan News: On the eve of the third anniversary of the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan, a number of protesting women and human rights activists have issued a call for demonstrations in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Call for Protests by Afghan Women and Human Rights Activists on the Eve of the Third Anniversary of Taliban Rule August 3, 2024 Zan News Zan News: On the eve of the third anniversary of the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan, a number of protesting women and human rights activists have issued a call for demonstrations in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. Protest movements, in issuing this call, have stated that August 15th marks the "disastrous surrender" of the Afghan nation and geography to the Taliban. According to this call, the consequences of the Taliban's return to power after August 2021 have been "gender apartheid, the complete elimination of women from society, murder, assassination, forced displacement, and thousands of other disasters." The call has urged protest movements, civil society, human rights activists, former military personnel, human rights advocates, and other Afghan citizens to participate widely in these demonstrations. This call for protest comes on the eve of the third anniversary of the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan. The Taliban regained power on August 15, 2021, after twenty years, and since then have imposed severe restrictions on women and girls in the country. International institutions and organizations have repeatedly accused the Taliban of widespread human rights abuses in Afghanistan.

Officials of the Taliban's Department for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat province have called the voice of the female announcer in the media news services provocative. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Taliban in Herat: The Delicate Voice of This Female Reporter Provokes Us January 7, 2025 Ariahn Raya Officials of the Taliban's Department for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat province have called the voice of the female announcer in the media news services provocative. Agents of this department have verbally instructed the heads of some television media outlets in the province not to allow women to anchor the news. According to one of the officials of a television media outlet in Herat, head of the agents of the Taliban's Department for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the province told him: "You must remove this young lady who reads the news. The delicate voice of this female reporter provokes us. On one hand, it’s prayer time, and on the other hand, we see the provocative voice of this girl being broadcast on television." According to the source, the Taliban are attempting to systematically remove women and girls from the media. This order from the Taliban's Department for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has caused concern among a number of female journalists in Herat province. Rubika, one of the journalists, described the Taliban's strict laws as the group's fight against women and girls, saying: "Since the first day the Taliban came, we have been sitting with our hand under chin, waiting to see what orders the Taliban will give. Look at their own daughters, they participate in dance concerts abroad, yet the Taliban here are fighting against women and girls." Sharmila, another female journalist in Herat province, tells Zan TV: "The world must support us women because the Taliban’s war against the people is not over. Of course, today they don't fight with guns, but the Taliban fighters have started their war with knowledge and education, with the education of women and girls. And today, with my voice, which represents the voice of hundreds of freedom seekers, they are provoked." Meanwhile, some women's rights activists have described this action by the Taliban as a violation of women's fundamental and legal rights and have emphasized the need to remove the restrictions imposed by this group. Najla Hashimi, one of the women’s rights activists, says: "Women were created to live, not just to exist. Today, the Taliban, with their imposed restrictions, have deprived women of their fundamental, human, and human rights." The Taliban's Department for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in Herat calls the voices of women in the media provocative, while, according to officials of the Afghanistan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), the Taliban banned the voices of women from the media in Balkh, Takhar, and Jowzjan provinces on the 12 of December, 2021.

The Taliban held a ceremony in Kabul on Thursday (20 March) to mark the start of the 1404 academic year. However, it was observed that even after four years of depriving girls of education, the lock of this misogynistic government remains on the gates of education and learning for girls. File photo: Sgt. Ken Scar / DVIDS / Public Domain School-Deprived Girls in Afghanistan: We Are Mentally Dead March 22, 2025 Ariahn Raya The Taliban held a ceremony in Kabul on Thursday (20 March) to mark the start of the 1404 academic year. However, it was observed that even after four years of depriving girls of education, the lock of this misogynistic government remains on the gates of education and learning for girls. Some young girls in Afghanistan told Zan TV that they had hoped that in the new academic year (1404) the doors of school and university would be opened for them, but the Taliban have deprived girls and women of their right to education solely on the basis of their gender. These schoolgirls say that they are dead, both mentally and spiritually, because by continuing the ban on education, the Taliban have deprived them of the right to mental and intellectual growth. Asiyeh Ghafouri, the girl who deprived from school in the province of Farah, says that by closing the school doors for girls, the Taliban have not only deprived her of her rights but also destroyed her hopes and life. "When the school door was closed, I was in ninth grade. I really loved studying and achieving my dreams, but now—not only has my right to education been taken away, they've taken my life from me. I've become mentally unstable; I suffer from depression so severe that I see a psychologist every day, yet it’s all in vain. I've attempted suicide many times, but I haven't succeeded in ending my life. I feel that even living has taken away my right to die." Kobra, a 14-year-old girl who completed her sixth grade three months ago at one of Herat’s schools, tearfully told Zan TV: "I wish I had failed school so that I could have stayed one more year with my friends and classmates; why don’t the Taliban allow us? When we go to school, are we committing prostitution?" Suraya Nabizada, another girl deprived of education in Badghis province, says in a tearful voice: "I studied until the 11th grade, but it has been nearly four years since I was banned from going to school. I completely feel dead, both mentally and spiritually, because the Taliban do not allow us to study and grow. If the school doors had not been closed, I would now be studying one of my favorite fields at a university, but the Taliban took this right away from me." Meanwhile, the start of the new academic year in Afghanistan without the presence of girls has sparked strong reactions from human rights activists and international organizations. Shaharzad Akbar, the head of the Rawadari Human Rights Organization, wrote on the X platform that the Taliban held the academic year's opening ceremony in Kabul without the presence of women and girls. She added that the ban on girls' education is heartbreaking and, in her words, a sign of gender apartheid in Afghanistan. The academic year 1404 begins while girls above the sixth grade have been deprived of schooling for nearly four years. The Taliban have repeatedly spoken about working on a plan to create a "safe educational environment" in accordance with their self-defined version of Islamic Sharia. However, these promises have yet to be fulfilled and remain unclear.

Zan News: A total of 208 Afghan female students who were studying under the online scholarship program of the American University of Afghanistan have been left in uncertainty after the abrupt suspension of the program. File photo: Sgt. Ken Scar / DVIDS / Public Domain Sudden Suspension of Online Scholarships by the American University of Afghanistan Leaves 208 Female Students in Limbo April 9, 2025 Zan News Zan News: A total of 208 Afghan female students who were studying under the online scholarship program of the American University of Afghanistan have been left in uncertainty after the abrupt suspension of the program. According to the American media outlet NPR, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which funded the scholarships, announced via email on April 5 that the program would be “immediately” suspended. This comes despite earlier assurances that the scholarships would continue until June. Jeremy Levin, Deputy Assistant Administrator at USAID, stated in the email that the decision was made based on “a review and determination that this financial support no longer aligns with current government priorities.” The NPR report noted that the program’s organizers were also caught off guard by USAID’s decision, and it remains unclear whether funding will continue through the end of the current semester. The scholarships were funded through the “Women’s Scholarship Fund,” which was established in 2018 with a $50 million contribution from USAID to the University of Texas Foundation. According to fund administrators, tuition costs were covered by returns on investment, not by U.S. taxpayer money. With the support of this fund, 120 Afghan girls were able to travel to Qatar and Oman for in-person education, while dozens more participated in online classes from within Afghanistan. One of the affected students said, “This scholarship meant everything to me. It was like a light during the darkest days of my life. After the fall of Kabul, this program was my greatest hope for the future.” She is now in limbo due to the uncertainty surrounding the program. Meanwhile, Sahar Fetrat, a women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, condemned the suspension, saying: “These programs were the last remaining avenues for girls and women seeking higher education.” It is worth noting that since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, girls have been banned from attending schools and universities, making online education one of the few remaining options for them to continue their studies.

International Women's Solidarity Day and the Dire Situation of 20 Million Women Under Taliban Rule File photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain From Taliban's Political Violence to Domestic Violence Against Women: March 8, 2025 Ariahn Raya International Women's Solidarity Day and the Dire Situation of 20 Million Women Under Taliban Rule Women in different countries around the world are heading towards celebrating and honoring March 8, International Women's Day, while for over three years, the Taliban, through their inhumane decrees, have stripped the basic and human rights of more than twenty million women and girls in Afghanistan, chaining their individual freedoms. On the occasion of this day, women and girls deprived of their rights in Afghanistan say that not only have the Taliban deprived them of basic rights such as education, employment, and even their choice of clothing, but these decrees have also had a direct impact on family policies, to the extent that many women and girls have been rejected by their families due to these prohibitions and the Taliban's harsh orders. Mah Sheren, a 17-year-old victim of forced marriage and a survivor of education, whose face reflects the bitterness and failure of life. While weaving carpets in a corner of Herat city, she says that due to the closure of school doors and being confined at home while suffering from depression and mental illness, her family, without consulting her, married her off to an elderly man with a 20-year age difference. Mah Sheren describes the bitter and difficult life she has lived, and her failure in married life, in this way: "I studied until the seventh grade when the Taliban closed the school gates. I went home, and every day started with me crying. My situation was very bad. About eight months passed since then when I heard my mother saying, Get ready, people are coming for your engagement party. I said, Me? Has someone come to our house for a proposal to hold a gathering? She said, My daughter, your father has given you to a husband." As she weaves the colorful threads of the carpet, with eyes full of tears, she speaks more about her dark and unfortunate life: "Although I was not happy with this marriage, my father and mother forced me to marry. One year after my wedding, the hardships caused my husband to divorce me. I currently have a child, and I can't even earn enough money for his milk powder. I am confused whether to work to feed myself or buy milk powder for my child." Kobra Hashemi, another 21-year-old girl, whose family forced her into marriage due to the closure of educational and work opportunities for women, speaks with a trembling, tearful voice about her situation: "Since the doors of education and learning were closed to girls, it is not only the world that has abandoned us, and it is not just the Taliban who oppresses us, but our own parents are also wronging us. They forced me to marry. They say it's better to marry and build your life than to stay at home and fall into depression." Hashemi continues her speech and says with a sarcastic tone: "Isn't it interesting, the Taliban consider themselves more Muslim than the Muslims of the world, yet because I am a girl, I am not even allowed to make decisions for my own future, to decide with whom I will live under one roof for the coming years. You know what the problem is? It’s that my parents seem to be like the Taliban, because they live under the shadow of their power." Alongside the wave of Taliban political restrictions and violence against women, domestic violence has become a serious concern for women and girls in Afghanistan. Despite more than three years under Taliban rule, this violence has increased. Women's rights activists say that while the Taliban, with their inhumane decrees, are attempting to use women as a tool to gain international recognition and secure billions of dollars in aid from global countries, many families in Afghanistan are influenced by these decrees and are resorting to violence against women. Najla Farid, a women's rights activist, says in an interview with Zan TV: "The Taliban are attempting to exploit Afghan women for political gain. Every time the world’s countries decide to discuss Afghanistan, the Taliban issue a new decree to let the world know that if they are not recognized, their decrees will only increase. Now, the Taliban remain in power, and many parents have become like the Taliban in these three years, forcing their daughters into marriage, beating them, and treating them with violence." On the other hand, women's rights and human rights activists, on the occasion of March 8, are calling on international human rights organizations to pay attention to the situation of women under the shadow of the Taliban. Frishta Sakha, another women's rights activist, says: "Our demand is that the world and human rights organizations open their eyes to the women of Afghanistan and see the conditions that women and girls are facing. Our demand is to free women from the Taliban's restrictions." This comes at a time when many human rights organizations and countries around the world have described the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban's rule as dire and concerning. However, no action has yet been taken by these organizations to free women and girls from the harsh restrictions imposed by the Taliban.

Zan News: The "Voice of Afghanistan Uprising" movement has announced its existence, describing the situation in the country after the August 2021 agreement as the "darkest" period in Afghanistan. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated "Voice of Afghanistan Uprising" Movement Announces Its Existence January 4, 2025 Zan News Zan News: The "Voice of Afghanistan Uprising" movement has announced its existence, describing the situation in the country after the August 2021 agreement as the "darkest" period in Afghanistan. On Friday (3 January), the movement emphasized the need to exert pressure on the Taliban, stating that the group has destroyed women's fundamental and human rights by depriving them of the right to education. The movement stated that the "criminal" group has systematically excluded women from social life. The "Voice of Afghanistan Uprising" movement, emphasizing the fight against gender apartheid in Afghanistan, condemned any form of engagement with the Taliban. In conclusion, the movement urged the international community to pressure the Taliban to create conditions that ensure the political and social future of women in Afghanistan. It is worth noting that since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, they have imposed widespread restrictions on all citizens, with the most severe pressure placed on women, depriving them of their basic human rights.

Zan News: The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization has stated that Radio Begum has resumed its media activities, but the detained employees of this outlet remain in Taliban custody. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Journalists Support Organization: Radio Begum Has Resumed Its Activities, but Its Employees Remain in Taliban Custody February 25, 2025 Zan News Zan News: The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization has stated that Radio Begum has resumed its media activities, but the detained employees of this outlet remain in Taliban custody. The organization confirmed in a newsletter on Monday evening (24 February) that previous information regarding the release of these individuals was incorrect. It said that the detention of Radio Begum's employees indicates the continuation of the crackdown on media and the imposition of severe restrictions on journalists in Afghanistan. The newsletter stated that media employees in Afghanistan face not only work-related pressures but also the risk of arrest and direct suppression. The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization has called for the immediate release of these individuals and for respect for media rights. The organization also pointed out that challenges in accessing information from within Afghanistan have made accurate reporting difficult. According to the organization, the suppression of media and the continued detention of journalists have raised serious concerns about freedom of expression in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Journalists Support Organization added that the efforts of the media community and human rights organizations to pressure the authorities for the release of these individuals continue. This comes after the Taliban, a short time ago, raided the office of Radio Begum and arrested its employees, halting its operations.

Hunger and lack of sufficient food have caused widowed and unaccompanied women to forget the pain and suffering of loneliness and having no guardian. File photo: Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika / U.S. Army National Guard / Public Domain The Expansion of Food Insecurity in Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule: We Have No Strength to Walk from Hunger April 14, 2025 Ariahn Raya Hunger and lack of sufficient food have caused widowed and unaccompanied women to forget the pain and suffering of loneliness and having no guardian. Anar, a 70-year-old widow, left her home in Ghormach district of Badghis province seven years ago due to war and insecurity and took refuge in Herat. She says hunger and lack of access to adequate food have taken away her ability to walk. This elderly woman, who spends her days and nights alone in a small mud house covered with wooden beams, says with a tearful voice that she is always waiting in hope that her neighbors — all of whom are internally displaced — will help her with a piece of bread. "I have no one. I swear to God, some nights I don’t even have a piece of bread to eat and I go to sleep hungry. Sometimes people and our neighbors, who are also poor, bring me a piece of dry bread. Look, I’ve kept these dry, moldy breads out of fear of going hungry. I soak them in a glass of water to soften them and eat them again." As Anar shows her dry and moldy pieces of bread, she says that some time ago, her only 15-year-old son went to Iran through illegal routes, but he died after falling from a high-rise building while working as a laborer. She complains about the unfair distribution of humanitarian aid by the Taliban and says this group distributes aid to their relatives and associates. Bibi Sanam, a 68-year-old unaccompanied woman, sits under the sunlight, threading colorful beads together with a needle and thread in her hand, trying to earn enough to buy even a single piece of dry bread. She says that although her eyesight is weak and she is advanced in age, she is forced to work. Sanam also says she is too weak from hunger to walk. She calls on the Taliban and aid organizations to provide food assistance to unaccompanied women. "I swear to God, I can’t walk — I’m too hungry. I work from morning till night just to earn ten or twenty Afghanis so I can buy one piece of dry bread at night. Our request is that the government help us." This widowed woman, whose face reflects deep despair, says that not only does she lack access to food, but she is also ill. However, health centers under Taliban control do not provide services to her or others like her. Sanam, complaining about inhumane treatment at one of the health centers, says: "I used to always go to the nearby clinic when I got sick, but now they say this clinic used to belong to the Americans and we used to give you medicine, but now we can’t help you anymore." Ghuncha Gul, another widowed woman who threads beads alongside Sanam, has not been spared from economic hardship and poverty. Like other unaccompanied and widowed women, she speaks of the pain of hunger. "What can I say? I have no son and no daughter to work for me. I live alone. I went to my neighbor’s house to borrow some oil. I live in someone else’s house, and if the neighbors give me a piece of bread, that’s good. If not, I go hungry." It is worth noting that after the Taliban came to power in August 2021, work, education, and schooling for women and girls were banned in the country. Many women who were the breadwinners of their families have been forced to either beg for food or resort to sex work to survive.

Zan News: As the Taliban announce the results of the nationwide university entrance exam (Kankor), human rights defenders and women's rights activists have labeled the exam "single-gender" and warned that the continued ban on girls' education will cripple the country's future. File photo: Sgt. Ken Scar / DVIDS / Public Domain Human Rights Defenders: Nationwide University Entrance Exam Without Girls is Systematic Discrimination and Cripples Afghanistan's Future July 23, 2024 Zan News Zan News: As the Taliban announce the results of the nationwide university entrance exam (Kankor), human rights defenders and women's rights activists have labeled the exam "single-gender" and warned that the continued ban on girls' education will cripple the country's future. Shaharzad Akbar, the former head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, responded to the Kankor exam results, without the presence of girls, on her X account on Monday (July 22). She wrote that the Taliban continue to exclude women from all areas of public life, including access to secondary, high school, and university education. She warned that the prohibition on girls' education would cripple the future of Afghan society. Meanwhile, Afghan researcher Orzala Nemat also reacted to this issue on her X account, writing that the Kankor exam was held without the presence of girls for another year. She emphasized that this systemic discrimination is an example of "gender apartheid" and a long-term crime against the Afghan nation. It is worth noting that the results of the 1403 Kankor exam were announced on Sunday (July 21) by the National Examination Authority under Taliban control. According to the results, Atal Khan Rahimzoy from Habibia High School scored 359.6 points and was named the top student in this year's Kankor exam. For nearly three years, the Taliban have barred girls above the sixth grade from attending school in Afghanistan. The Taliban have also prevented women and girls from attending universities and educational institutions. This action has left millions of female students without education.