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Social media Local sources in Herat say that the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested four female bloggers yesterday (October 5) for unknown reasons. These girls, who produced cultural, artistic, and social content on social media, had previously deleted all content from their pages after receiving repeated warnings from the Taliban and witnessing the arrest of other female bloggers. Although these bloggers had stopped their online activities to protect their safety, they were still targeted, arrested, and harassed by Taliban forces. Human rights activists and social media users have described this action by the Taliban as part of the group’s systematic policy to silence women’s voices and completely erase their presence from the country’s public sphere.

Ebrahim Noroozi / AP Photo — via NPR While the world, on October 5, celebrates World Teachers’ Day and honors the key role of educators in shaping the future of generations, in Afghanistan, this day has turned into a painful and tragic story. In a country where, four years into Taliban rule, the doors of schools and universities remain closed, especially to girls, thousands of teachers, particularly women, have lost their jobs, their security, and their hope. Aziza Fateh, one of the women teachers in Nimroz province, told Zan News with bitterness: “The Taliban have turned our lives into hell. Where is Teachers’ Day? We should be mourning our darkness and misery, not celebrating Teachers’ Day.” She is among hundreds of women who for years have dedicated themselves to educating children, but with the closure of schools, she has not only lost her job but is also struggling with severe economic challenges. In the north of the country, the situation is equally grim. Farida Habibi, a university professor in Balkh province, recalls the days when she proudly educated her students as if they were her own children. But today, there are no classrooms and no day left to celebrate. “For a few years, we were happy to be teachers, to educate students. They were all like my own children. But now, Teachers’ Day for us in Afghanistan is a day of mourning.” Civil activists have also raised concerns about the current situation. Fawzia Wahdat, one of the advocates for education, emphasizing the reopening of schools and universities for girls, says: “The Taliban must think about the progress of the country. Without education, there is no imaginable future for Afghanistan.” Despite the global celebration of Teachers’ Day, women teachers in Afghanistan have not only been deprived of the right to teaching but have also been denied even a simple opportunity to be appreciated for their efforts. What remains are the memories of classrooms that no longer exist and a hope that breathes weakly under the heavy weight of restrictions.

Ali Khara / Reuters Following the complete shutdown of the internet and telephone communications for 48 hours by the Taliban, millions of Afghan citizens faced serious disruptions in their daily lives, disruptions that severely affected everything from education and business to family relationships and people’s mental health. This sudden action, which was implemented from the evening of September 29 to October 1, has once again raised serious questions about the Taliban’s approach toward fundamental freedoms and the basic needs of the people of Afghanistan. Habib Naqeeb, one of the Afghan traders who had traveled to Iran for business deals, told Zan News that in the absence of internet and communication, he not only suffered a heavy financial loss but was also forced to send a letter to get news from his family, an action that seems unimaginable in today’s world. He said that during this short period, he experienced severe psychological stress and constant anxiety for his family. Farshid Atefi, another major businessman in the country, spoke of a loss amounting to more than 250 million Afghanis in just these two days and emphasized that the internet shutdown has had disastrous economic consequences for thousands of domestic and foreign traders. He called for a transparent response from the Taliban to this communication crisis, which is further crippling the country’s fragile economy. In the absence of the internet, thousands of school and university students were deprived of access to education, employees were unable to perform their duties, and people remained unaware of the health conditions of their relatives in different provinces. This nationwide shutdown temporarily turned Afghanistan into an isolated island, where people had access neither to information nor to their loved ones. While the world is moving toward digital development, the Taliban, with the press of a button, are plunging the fate of 36 million people into complete darkness. This action is not only against the basic principles of human rights but also a clear sign of disregard for the economic and social future of Afghanistan. Now, more than ever, the people of Afghanistan need pressure from the international community to put an end to this dangerous game with communications and freedoms.

Photo: The New York Times “This is not life, it is a prison without locks and doors.” Dozens of Afghan women and girls who were recently deported from Iran have been admitted to mental health hospitals after returning to Afghanistan, due to facing the Taliban regime and laws that have pushed women’s lives to the brink of destruction. While these women lived in Iran with hope for a better future, they now breathe in a land where simply “being a woman” is an unwritten crime. Education, study, work, recreation, going to restaurants, or even the right to walk freely in the city are all forbidden for them. Shafiqa, one of the girls who returned to Nimroz after being deported, says with a broken voice: “When I was dragged here from Iran, I did not think I would go straight from the border to a mental hospital, but at night I sleep with sleeping pills and during the day I breathe and stay awake with antidepressants. This is not life, it is a prison without locks and doors.” This is not only Shafiqa’s voice. Nahid, another young girl who was deported from Tehran, tells Zan News about the bitter memory of her return: “When I saw the Taliban, my whole body started shaking. I froze from fear. I felt my soul died at that moment. I no longer have a future, nor control over myself…” Health sources in western Afghanistan confirmed to Zan News that the number of women suffering from severe depression, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, and nervous breakdowns has increased to an unprecedented level. A psychiatrist who did not want to be named told Zan News: “Every day we see young girls who, out of despair and psychological pressure, even think about suicide. They have no outlook, no hope, and no social support.” Meanwhile, human rights organizations have warned that a silent annihilation of the generation of Afghan women is underway. In the heavy silence of the international community, and while the world’s attention is focused on other crises, the Taliban are systematically eliminating women from society. Now, women are not only deprived of normal life, but their mental health is also in serious danger.

Photo: EUinAfghanistan The European Union Delegation in Afghanistan, on the occasion of World Teachers’ Day, emphasized in a statement that “education for all is the key to a resilient and self-reliant Afghanistan” and plays a fundamental role in the country’s economic development. On Sunday (October 5), the institution wrote on X that the European Union appreciates the tireless efforts of Afghanistan’s teachers, especially the courage of women teachers and students. This year’s World Teachers’ Day comes at a time when in the past, Afghanistan’s schools marked the day by holding cultural programs and honoring teachers, but such ceremonies have stopped in many provinces since the Taliban’s return to power. While October 5 is celebrated worldwide as an opportunity to recognize teachers and reflect on their role, Afghanistan today faces a different reality, where thousands of women teachers have been confined to their homes and millions of girls remain deprived of education beyond the sixth grade.

Photo: Mahdi Ansary FB Amnesty International, in response to the Taliban’s release of a “forced confession” video of journalist Mahdi Ansary, has called for his immediate and unconditional release. In a statement published on Saturday evening (October 4), the organization urged the Taliban to “end their shameful campaign of defamation” against Ansary. Amnesty International emphasized that the Taliban’s judicial system has become a tool for suppressing critics, and anyone who criticizes the group’s policies faces arbitrary arrest, illegal detention, enforced disappearance, and forced confessions. The organization warned that the Taliban are using these methods to silence the voices of journalists, civil society members, and human rights defenders. According to Amnesty International, the Taliban sentenced Mahdi Ansari in a “show and unfair trial” to 18 months in prison solely for performing his journalistic duties. The organization stressed that no journalist should be imprisoned for doing their professional work and that the Taliban must ensure that until his release, he is held in conditions that meet international standards and has access to medical care, legal counsel, and family visits. Mahdi Ansari, a journalist with the “Afghan Agency,” was arrested by Taliban intelligence in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul on October 5 2024 and has been in prison since then. The Taliban sentenced him to one and a half years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.” Two days ago, a Taliban-affiliated media outlet released a video of his “forced confession,” in which Ansari, under pressure and in unclear circumstances, expresses regret for his journalistic activities. Earlier, the Afghanistan Journalists Center also described the release of this video as a “clear violation of fair trial principles” and part of a “growing pattern of media repression” in the country. The center said that the Taliban, through arbitrary detentions and unfair trials, are systematically eliminating media freedom and freedom of expression. Currently, according to reports, at least six journalists in Kabul, Ghazni, and Parwan are being held in Taliban prisons. Since the Taliban’s return to power, the suppression of media and the release of forced confessions have become one of the group’s main tools for controlling public opinion; the recent video of Mahdi Ansari is the latest example of this repressive policy.

Social Media Local sources in Helmand province say a man in Nahr-Saraj district shot and killed his mother and two sisters and injured his father. The incident took place on Tuesday (September 30) in the village of “Shin Bagh.” According to sources, the man first had a verbal argument with his father and then opened fire on him and other members of his family. Sources add that the individual has been arrested by the Taliban on charges of killing his family members, but local officials of the group have so far not commented on the incident. Family killings have increased since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. In most of these cases, the victims are women and girls who lose their lives under the shadow of domestic violence.

video screenshot The Taliban-affiliated “Saday-e-HinduKush” media outlet has published a video of the forced confession of Mahdi Ansari, a journalist with “Afghanistan International” and “Hasht-e-Subh,” saying that he was arrested on charges of “propaganda against the regime.” In this video, the time and circumstances of which are unclear, Ansari appears before the camera saying that he had cooperated with media outlets opposing the Taliban and covered women’s protest programs against the group. In the video, he expresses regret for his journalism and reporting work. Mahdi Ansari was abducted by Taliban intelligence from Dasht-e-Barchi, Kabul, on 5 October 2024, and that same year was sentenced to one and a half years in prison on charges of “propaganda against the Taliban.” The Taliban have said that Ansari had been spreading “toxic propaganda” against the group through fake accounts and pages on social media. However, media activists and international organizations stress that such confessions are coerced and that the arrest of journalists is part of the Taliban’s wider process of suppressing the media and silencing freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

Photo: Str/Xinhua The World Food Programme (WFP) says that the recent earthquakes in Afghanistan have pushed the hunger and malnutrition crisis to an unprecedented level. On Thursday (October 2), the organization said in a report that more than 9 million people, including millions of women and children, are facing acute food insecurity and that severe malnutrition among children and mothers has reached “the highest recorded level.” According to the report, the eastern provinces, especially Kunar and Nangarhar, which suffered the most from the earthquakes, were already facing critical levels of malnutrition and now the situation has become worse. In only three provinces (Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman), 58,000 people have so far received emergency food assistance, but mountainous and remote areas still remain deprived of aid due to destroyed roads and lack of access. The organization said that at the same time, the forced return of thousands of families from Pakistan has placed additional pressure on limited humanitarian resources. The World Food Programme says that due to lack of funding, monthly food assistance has been reduced from several million people to less than one million. The organization has requested 622 million dollars for the next six months. John Aylieff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, stressed: “Earthquake survivors must not fall victim to a second wave of deaths in the winter. Without immediate assistance, hunger and malnutrition will threaten the lives of millions of Afghans.”

The human rights organization “Hengaw” has announced that Iran executed at least 187 prisoners in September of this year, among them 10 Afghan citizens, including one woman. On Wednesday (1 October), the organization reported that the number of executions in Iran had increased by 140 percent compared to September of last year, reaching the highest level in the past two decades. Most of those executed were convicted on charges related to drug trafficking and murder, but among them were also three political activists, two religious prisoners, and at least six women. Meanwhile, in the past eight months alone, at least 46 Afghan citizens have been executed in Iran. In the organization’s new report, the name of an Afghan woman, Hadigheh Abadi, was mentioned, who was executed on drug-related charges. The Taliban had earlier requested Iranian judicial authorities to consider alternative punishments for Afghans sentenced to death, but this request has apparently been ignored.