Search Results

Image: WFP_Afghanistan/X The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that millions of women in Afghanistan are witnessing their children suffer from malnutrition, as international aid declines and winter approaches. John Aylieff, WFP Country Director in Afghanistan, said on Tuesday (11 November): “Afghan women are watching their children succumb to malnutrition while being cut off from aid and left to face an unimaginable situation. Now is not the time to cut assistance. Winter is coming, we must scale up our support and deliver on the solidarity we promised.” The warning follows the WFP’s earlier statement that the nutrition crisis in Afghanistan is worsening, particularly among women and children, and that for the first time in decades, a full-scale winter relief operation may not be possible, a crisis the agency described as “entirely preventable.” Previously, World Vision International had also reported that Afghanistan is facing one of the worst nutrition crises in the world. According to its data, 3.7 million Afghan children suffer from acute malnutrition, with more than one million at immediate risk of death. Experts say the reduction in international aid, combined with the forced return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran, has further deepened the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Women and children remain the most vulnerable; a crisis that, with the onset of winter, risks turning into a silent catastrophe.

Image: Javed Tanveer/AFP Following the Taliban’s decision to make the wearing of the burqa mandatory for women in Herat province, the Republican Women’s Network of Afghanistan issued a statement condemning the order as “a blatant violation of human dignity and the fundamental rights of women.” The statement says that the Taliban’s policies, including the imposition of compulsory dress codes, the deprivation of education and work, and the restriction of women’s presence in public spaces, are “in contradiction with Islamic, human, and universal rights values.” The Republican Women’s Network stressed that men and women, as human beings, possess equal and inalienable rights, and that no group has the authority to restrict women’s freedom and right to choose in the name of religion or hijab. The statement reads: “The growing restrictions against women reflect the Taliban’s fear of women’s awareness and active participation in society. The Taliban seek to imprison women at home and base their power on ignorance and tyranny.” The network urged women in Herat to break their silence and protest peacefully and civilly against these oppressive policies. It also called on international organisations, media outlets, and human rights defenders to document the Taliban’s actions and apply political and legal pressure to stop these restrictions. This statement comes as the Taliban have made the burqa mandatory for women in Herat province. According to reports, women without a burqa are denied entry to hospitals, government offices, and public transport. In recent days, a number of women in Kabul and Herat have staged symbolic protests, setting burqas on fire and calling it “a tool of oppression and the erasure of women from society.”

Sent to Zan TV The Berlin Freedom Conference, aimed at promoting the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights, was held in the German capital. The event, held on Monday (10 November), brought together politicians, civil society activists, and human rights defenders from across the world. During the conference, Shukria Barakzai, former member of the Afghan parliament and Vice President of the World Liberty Congress, expressed deep concern over the continuation of “gender apartheid” and the widespread violations of human rights in Afghanistan. She urged the international community to take practical and effective measures in support of Afghan women and girls. Niloofar Ayubi, human rights activist and member of the MENA Council of the Congress, and Roya Mahboob, entrepreneur and women’s rights advocate, also spoke about the devastating impact of Taliban policies on the social, educational, and professional lives of Afghan women. The Berlin Freedom Conference, part of Berlin Freedom Week, was attended by several prominent figures, including Masih Alinejad, Iranian women’s rights activist. The conference comes at a time when women in Afghanistan live under one of the most repressive regimes in the world. They are barred from education, work, travel, and participation in public life, and face policies designed to erase them entirely from society. Women’s rights activists say that such international gatherings are crucial for amplifying the silenced voices of Afghan women to the world.

Image: UNICEF The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that in 2025, in cooperation with the World Bank, 70 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres have been established across Afghanistan, benefiting more than 20,000 children so far. UNICEF stated that the aim of the programme is to support children’s mental and emotional development and to strengthen positive relationships between mothers and their children. Azita Siddiqi, a senior trainer of the programme in Herat, said: “In the early development centres, learning takes place through play, conversation, and poetry so that children, alongside their mothers, can feel joy and confidence.” In a video released by UNICEF on Monday (November 10), Madina Azimi, one of the participating mothers in Herat province, said: “I learned that children under three years old learn best through songs and rhymes. When I sing with my child, his behaviour and emotions improve.” UNICEF added that the programme not only supports children’s learning but also helps mothers understand how to foster their children’s mental and emotional growth through play and emotional connection. The programme comes at a time when millions of children in Afghanistan are deprived of basic opportunities for growth and learning due to poverty, malnutrition, and widespread restrictions on education and healthcare.

Image: Ebrahim Noroozi / AP The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of a sharp increase in malnutrition across Afghanistan, particularly among women and children, saying that the situation is expected to worsen as winter approaches. In a message on X on Monday (November 10), the organisation said: “For the first time in decades, a full winter response in Afghanistan may not be possible.” The WFP described the crisis as “preventable” and urged the international community to provide urgent and effective support to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. According to the organisation, more than 2.5 million Afghan returnees, particularly women and children expelled from Pakistan and Iran, are suffering from severe malnutrition. Earlier, World Vision Afghanistan also warned that the country is facing one of the worst nutrition crises in the world. The organisation reported that 3.7 million Afghan children are suffering from acute malnutrition, with one million at immediate risk of death. World Vision added that more than 305 nutrition centres in Afghanistan have closed due to funding shortages, and current international assistance covers only 30 percent of the actual needs.

Image: WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP Several female teachers in Herat have spoken out about the Taliban’s latest restrictive measure, saying the group has now forced them to wear the chadari or burqa; a decision that many women see as a complete return to darkness and the complete exclusion of women from education.. Shaqayeq Mushfiq, a veteran teacher, told Zan News: “The Taliban are intensifying their war against women day by day. I went to ensure that the girls who come to class with such enthusiasm would not miss their lessons, but the Taliban did not let me in because I was wearing a black shawl instead of a burqa. I am fifty years old, who do they think is going to look at me?” These words from Shaqayeq paint a painful picture of the current reality for Afghan women; women caught between their commitment to education and the restrictions imposed by the Taliban. Frozan Tokhi, another female teacher in Herat, also spoke with distress: “The day before, we were warned not to go to school without wearing the burqa. I wore it, but I could neither see the road clearly nor breathe easily. When I entered the classroom, all the students were terrified. The burqa is not just a piece of cloth; it is a shadow of fear and suffocation that weighs heavily on the minds and hearts of women and children.” This new restriction comes as thousands of women across Afghanistan continue to suffer from the deprivation of education and work. Now, with the enforcement of compulsory burqa, the Taliban have taken yet another step towards silencing women and erasing their identity.

Image: Quddus khatibi/Facebook Local sources in Herat say that the Taliban have arrested a female doctor in the province and released her several hours later. According to the sources, Taliban agents from the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice arrested Dr Shabnam Fazli, a general surgeon, on Monday morning (November 10) at the gate of Herat Regional Hospital. Qudus Khatibi, Dr Fazli’s husband, confirmed that she was released a few hours after her arrest. It has been said that her arrest was linked to the Taliban’s recent directive, which bans women without burqas from entering government institutions, including hospitals and schools. In response to this decision, several women protesters in Kabul and Herat burned burqas in a symbolic act, calling it “a tool of oppression and the exclusion of women from society.” Women’s rights activists say that with this decision, the Taliban have taken another step towards “gender apartheid”; a process that began with the exclusion of women from education and employment and has now reached their complete removal from public life.

Image: Wakil Kohsar/AFP As part of the new restrictions imposed by the Taliban in the Farsi district of Herat province, new directives have been issued for public transport drivers, requiring them to refrain from picking up women who are not wearing a chadari or burqa, even if they are accompanied by a male guardian. Fereshta, a resident of the district aged over 60, shared her distressing experience with Zan News when attempting to travel to the centre of Herat. She said that taxi drivers refused to take her because she was not wearing a burqa. Fereshta added: “We were invited to my daughter’s house in Herat. When my husband and I went to the roadside, no one picked me up. They said, ‘You do not have a burqa, and we are not allowed to take you.’” Sudaba, another resident of the district, spoke of facing similar difficulties. She said that while travelling with her daughters and elder son to Herat, she waited by the roadside for two hours, but no driver agreed to pick them up. Sudaba stated: “In the end, I went home and found a burqa from the previous Taliban regime. I wore it, and my son and I managed to reach the city, but my daughters could not come with us.” These restrictions are not limited to drivers and passengers. Last week, the Taliban also issued directives banning women without a burqa from entering hospitals and government offices. These new policies reflect the growing pressure on women in Afghanistan, many of whom now face serious obstacles even when attempting to make essential journeys.

Sent to Zan TV The 10th edition of the Ghan International Film Festival Australia (GIFFA) was held in Sydney, where Afghan women brought their silenced voices to the world through the screen. A special section of the festival was dedicated to documentaries from Afghanistan, portraying the suffering and resilience of Afghan women living under Taliban rule. One of the standout films was “Shot the Voice of Freedom”, directed by Zainab Entezar, a filmmaker who herself took part in women’s protests in Afghanistan and captured real scenes of struggle and repression. The film tells the story of two sisters who stand up against Taliban restrictions and violence. Sent to Zan TV The festival, organised by a group of filmmakers and activists based in Australia, was attended by Afghan women protesters, artists, and social figures. Participants said that in a country like Afghanistan, where freedom of expression, cinema, and women’s voices for education and liberty have been silenced, this section of the festival reflected the painful realities and enduring resistance of Afghan women.

googleimage Taliban security officials in Logar say a mother and her daughter have been killed by thieves in the province. According to a statement issued by the Taliban’s provincial police command on Saturday (8 November), the incident took place in Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province. The statement said the thieves killed the 60-year-old mother and her 13-year-old daughter with an axe after knocking them unconscious, and placed their bodies inside a chest. The Taliban police command added that two suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident in the Omarabad area. According to the Taliban, around 4,000 US dollars and 200,000 Afghanis were stolen from the victims’ home. The incident comes despite repeated claims by the Taliban of having ensured “nationwide security.” However, reports indicate that violent crimes such as theft, murder, and abduction have increased in recent months. Residents in several provinces say the Taliban have failed to ensure safety and prevent crime.