Image Credit: AtlasComposer (Licensed to Zan TV) Author: Mursal Qaisari Period is a natural process in the bodies of girls and women. It is a sign of hormonal health and fertility. This cycle usually occurs every 28 days and can last from 3 to 7 days. More than half of the women in the world experience severe pain during their period. This pain includes body aches, headaches, back pain, and even nausea. Some conditions such as endometriosis or abnormal bleeding also make life more difficult for women.   Menstruation is still surrounded by restrictive traditions, silence, shame, and ignorance. However, it is a very natural part of a woman’s life. In many societies, this issue is rarely discussed and is often considered shameful. This prevents women and girls from talking openly about their problems or using proper health facilities. Many girls even think they are sick when they experience their first period. But for us, menstruation is a sign of being healthy, not weakness or illness.   A clear example is my own country, Afghanistan. There, menstruation is still seen as a hidden and shameful subject. In most families, girls are not informed about this cycle before they experience their first period, which brings them fear, anxiety, and even depression. Talking about menstruation is not a normal thing in families or schools. Some families even think that period is something dirty and should not be talked about. I remember a true example from one of my friends in Afghanistan during the month of Ramadan. According to Islamic teachings, women and girls cannot fast or pray while they are on their period. But my friend told me that even if her fast would not be accepted, she still did not eat anything during the whole day, so no man in her family would know she was menstruating. It really disappointed me, because when period is something discussed even in the Quran Kareem and it is a natural part of our body, why should we be ashamed of it? Why is this still seen as something to be hidden?   This silence also brings more difficulties. For many girls, buying sanitary napkins looks like a shame because they have grown up hearing such things. Some of them cannot even afford them, which forces them to use unsafe alternatives, causing serious health problems.   When that time of the month comes, a few days before and during their period, the hormones also change in a girl’s body. These changes affect not only the body but also emotions and feelings. The pain we experience while being on period can make us appear sad, tired, or irritable. This is natural, but in our society only a few people understand it. Most families do not realize that these changes are very natural for females. Because of this, girls face unfair judgments or inattention. This lack of awareness causes them to feel even more mental pressure.   A research published in the Journal of Pain Research  showed that period pain in some women can even be more severe than a heart attack. According to the study, 70 percent of women and girls complain of difficult menstrual pain, but because menstruation is still treated as a taboo and shame, this difficult pain is not taken seriously by societies.   But the main problem is that these beliefs are not limited just to my country, Afghanistan; they exist in other countries as well. For example, in many villages and rural areas in India, women are still facing restrictions because of old beliefs. In such areas, when a girl gets her period, she is considered unclear, so she does not have permission to enter any temple or worship place. Some families do not allow them to cook or touch the dishes during their period. Even in some places, it is also believed that girls should stay in a separate room until they become clean. These practices and beliefs make women feel more ashamed and isolated.   Menstruation is a simple biological truth, but it is still seen as a shame if someone wants to talk about it. The examples from Afghanistan, India, and other countries show us that this problem is not only related to one country or culture but is a regional problem. Girls in these societies not only face physical pain and hormonal changes but also experience mental pressures caused by lack of awareness, health facilities, and social misunderstanding.   To solve these problems, some steps are needed. Parents should teach their daughters what menstruation is before it begins, so they will be aware of what they will face. Boys should also be aware that menstruation is something natural and normal, not shameful or funny. Girls must have access to sanitary napkins. Governments and health organizations must provide free or affordable pads to ensure no one is left out. Media, teachers, and community leaders should clearly talk about it, so the shame and silence will be broken down. And the most important thing is that families should support their daughters with kindness rather than wrongly judging them.   I believe that change is possible. But for this change, only girls and women are not enough. Men must also play a role. Brothers, husbands, and fathers should understand that menstruation is not an illness or disgrace; it is a natural part of a woman’s life. When a father shows kindness to his daughter while she is on period, when a brother buys her the necessary things, or when a husband supports and understands his wife with care and patience, women will no longer feel ashamed or alone. If men do not remain silent and instead act with respect, then the whole society will realize that period is nothing to be ashamed of.   That is why I believe that the real change is only possible when men are with us, because respect and understanding from men can break the silence and shame about period.   I hope and dream of a day when no girl, in any corner of this world, feels shame or loneliness because of period, but instead lives with dignity, care, and support.

Photo: flickr Local sources confirm that after Balkh and Badakhshan provinces, the Taliban have now blocked fiber optic internet services in Kandahar and Helmand as well. Residents of these two provinces said on Tuesday (September 16) that since this afternoon they have had no access to home and office internet through fiber optic, and the only remaining option is to use mobile data. A day earlier, the Taliban had also cut off fiber optic internet in Balkh. The spokesperson for the Taliban governor in the province, in a statement published on the social network X, announced that this action was carried out by order of the Taliban leader and “to prevent immoralities.” Meanwhile, residents of Badakhshan also reported yesterday a complete shutdown of internet services, saying that they can now only connect with the outside world through mobile data.

Reuters / Stringer via ABC News UNICEF Afghanistan has once again warned about the critical situation of children in the earthquake-affected areas. On Tuesday (September 16), the organization, by releasing a video on its X page, shared the account of “Sajed,” an 11-year-old earthquake survivor in Kunar. In the video, Sajed says: “We were 11 people in the family. My mother and sister died, my other brother and sister were injured. Now we live in the open air. Last night it rained, we all got wet, and we have no house and no food.” According to UNICEF, children make up more than half of the victims of the Kunar earthquake. In this earthquake more than 2,200 people lost their lives, at least 1,182 of them children. Thousands of houses were destroyed and more than half a million people, mostly women and children, were affected. Charles Nzuki, UNICEF’s Senior Emergency Coordinator in Afghanistan, says in the video: “In the emergency camps of Kunar, we have provided urgent services including health, nutrition, water and sanitation (WASH), and psychosocial support for children and women. Mobile health teams and counselors have also been deployed to assist the affected.” UNICEF emphasized that despite difficulties in access, it is working to ensure that families and children affected by the earthquake have access to life-saving services as soon as possible. Immediate aid includes treatment of malnutrition, health services, drinking water, and cash assistance for homeless families. The organization announced that for the next six months it requires 22 million dollars to assist 400,000 people, including more than 212,000 children. It is worth mentioning that the 6-magnitude earthquake on August 31 in Kunar and Nangarhar was one of the most disastrous recent natural events in Afghanistan, which left more than 3,600 injured and thousands homeless. Taliban restrictions on the presence of female aid workers have made relief efforts more difficult, and women and children, as in the Herat earthquake of 2023, constitute the majority of the victims of this disaster.

Dozens of retired women in Kabul on Tuesday (September 16) staged a protest in front of the Taliban Pension Fund Directorate, demanding the payment of their overdue pensions. The protesters say that for four years the Taliban have not paid the pensions of retirees, a situation that has left many of them in poverty and hunger. One protester told Zan News: “We cannot even afford to buy bread for our families. After years of service, today they do not recognize any rights for us.” Sources confirm that in response to this gathering, the Taliban dispersed several women with violence and beatings. The protesters came from various institutions including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the former Afghan Parliament. This protest was held while Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, in April 2024, announced the dissolution of Afghanistan’s pension system. He later issued another decree making the payment of pensions conditional on the decision of a special court under the group’s supervision, and in a separate eight-article decree agreed to pay pensions of only “some” retired government employees based on the “Sharia ruling” of the same court. It is worth noting that since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the pensions of thousands of retired women, from teachers to health workers and employees of the former government, have been suspended.

Sent to Zan TV The “Purple Saturdays” movement, in a statement, described the recent decree of the Taliban leader on the forced collection of mentally ill patients across Afghanistan as a clear violation of the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and warned of its dangerous consequences. In the statement published on Tuesday (September 16), it was said that such an action is contrary to Afghanistan’s international commitments, especially the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the guidelines of the World Health Organization, which emphasize that any intervention in the lives of people with mental health issues must be carried out with informed consent and a supportive and rehabilitative approach, not through coercive and security-based methods. The movement warned that in the absence of an effective health system and considering the Taliban’s history of violence, this decree could become a tool for arbitrary arrests, torture, and even the elimination of political and social opponents under the label of “mentally ill patients.” According to the movement, such a policy only creates a new wave of fear and terror in society and further exposes the mental health of the Afghan people to collapse. The movement reminded that one of the main causes of the spread of mental illness in Afghanistan is the Taliban’s repressive policies, gender apartheid against women, violations of citizens’ fundamental rights, poverty, and widespread unemployment. The statement stressed: “The continuation of Taliban rule will intensify the mental health crisis and lead to an increase in cases of suicide and mental illness.” The movement called on the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, and human rights defenders to exert serious and comprehensive pressure for the abolition of the Taliban’s so-called “Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.” Meanwhile, the Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada recently issued a decree under which all Taliban departments are obliged to identify and collect mentally ill patients in the country’s 34 provinces. Taliban officials in Daikundi have confirmed that the process has begun and that patients are being handed over to the Red Crescent and some affiliated institutions of the group. The Taliban have described this action as being carried out “to preserve social order.” It should be noted that the Taliban have a violent history in dealing with vulnerable people; for example, last October, a 22-year-old man with a mental disorder was shot dead by Taliban members in Ghor province when the group attempted to forcibly take him away.

Social Media Local sources in Badakhshan province report a complete shutdown of internet services. Residents of the province say that the Taliban, by pressuring telecommunications and internet companies, have disrupted free access to the internet. One local source told Zan News: “The Taliban cut off the internet, and we use our mobile phones with fear and trembling, but perhaps even this will be controlled, and for us, life in this 21st century has turned into hell.” People in Badakhshan are only able to connect with the outside world through mobile data, but they have serious concerns about surveillance and monitoring by the Taliban’s intelligence forces. Meanwhile, residents of Mazar-e-Sharif also say that for the past week the Taliban governor in the province has cut off the internet.

Imgae: Noorullah Shirzada / AFP Following the Taliban’s repressive policies to restrict freedom of expression and access to information, residents of Balkh province report a complete shutdown of internet services in the province, saying that by direct order of the Taliban governor in Balkh, all internet service providers have been suspended for the past two days, leaving no access to the internet through landlines or private companies. According to residents, the only remaining way to access the internet is through mobile data, and even that comes with serious concerns about Taliban monitoring of people’s communications. Some local sources say that telecommunications networks are also under direct pressure from the Taliban, and it is likely that people’s calls and digital communications are being systematically intercepted and recorded. One resident of Mazar-e-Sharif, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told Zan News: “They silenced television with image censorship, and now it is the turn of the internet. We are practically living in a digital prison.” Alongside these restrictions, another source challenged the Taliban’s double standards, telling Zan News: “The Taliban themselves use the internet, even to watch obscene and worthless content, but we are not allowed to make video calls with our families abroad. This is the height of oppression.” This decision comes after the Taliban had already banned the broadcast of images on television in Balkh, an action that sparked widespread reactions from Afghan social media users. Political analysts also say that banning the internet in a large and strategic province like Balkh is a clear sign of intensified control of information and the suppression of any form of civil resistance.

Image: ManizhaBakhtari/X Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Austria, has announced the holding of the 12th “From Kabul to Vienna” festival. On Monday (September 15), in a message on the social network X, she described the festival as a valuable opportunity to introduce Afghan culture and to strengthen the integration of Afghan migrants into Austrian society. This year’s festival was held on the 30 and 31 of August in Vienna, with the cooperation of more than 20 associations and organizations active in the Afghan diaspora. The event featured sports competitions, an exhibition of handicrafts and cultural products, local Afghan food, and performances of traditional Afghan music. Bakhtari emphasized that the festival has been able to reflect the true cultural image of the Afghan people in Austrian society and has helped build cultural bridges between Afghan migrants and the people of Austria. She added that such programs not only keep Afghan cultural identity alive but also play a key role in strengthening the positive integration of migrants into the host society.

Image: Aakriti Thapar / BBC The BBC in a recent report reflected the bitter accounts of Afghan families who, after the closure of U.S. funded clinics, have lost women and children. The United States, which for decades was the largest donor to Afghanistan and in 2024 provided about 43 percent of the country’s total international aid, in early 2025 with Donald Trump’s return to power almost completely stopped its assistance. This decision, along with the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), led to the closure of more than 400 health centers, which for millions of citizens, especially women and children, had been the only hope of accessing healthcare services. The BBC narrates that in the village of “Shishpul” in Badakhshan, Shahnaz was taken by her husband Abdul to the clinic during labor, but they were faced with locked doors. On the way back, Shahnaz gave birth to her child inside a taxi, but due to severe bleeding she died, and the newborn passed away minutes later. Abdul says: “If the clinic had been open, my wife and child would be alive today.” Before its closure, the Shishpul clinic managed 25 to 30 births a month and provided families with basic medical services. But now pregnant women in mountainous and remote areas are forced to give birth at home or along long and unsafe routes. According to the BBC, after the closure of these centers, the deaths of pregnant mothers in northeastern Afghanistan have risen significantly. In the central hospital of Faizabad, the number of female patients has more than doubled, while the hospital’s budget has fallen from 70,000 dollars to only 25,000 dollars. On the other hand, the ban on women’s education in the field of health has resulted in a severe shortage of female specialists. Women who were deprived of continuing their studies say: “In the clinic we had hope; today nothing remains. Our pain has become untreatable.” Meanwhile, with the Taliban’s strict restrictions against women, not only have they blocked aid delivery and the training of female medical staff, but they have also made millions of ordinary citizens, especially women and children, victims of their discriminatory policies.

Image: Stian Lysberg Solum/NTB/AFP/Getty via newsweek Anas Haqqani, a member of the Haqqani network and a political figure of the Taliban, recently claimed in an interview that with the announcement of a “general amnesty” after the fall of the republic, the Taliban made history and are proud of it. He has asserted that after taking control of Afghanistan, the group established security across the country instead of seeking revenge. However, existing evidence and documented reports by credible international institutions prove that the Taliban’s general amnesty has in fact been a propaganda cover to conceal the group’s widespread and systematic crimes. Contradiction Between Claim and Reality Haqqani said: “Our elders made history with the announcement of a general amnesty… maybe people say that we exaggerate, but a large number of ministers of the republican government, including Hamid Karzai and Dr. Abdullah, are still in Kabul.” But field realities clearly show that this claim is more a political lie than a historical fact. International Documentation UNAMA in its 2023 report wrote: “Despite the announcement of a general amnesty, the Taliban have carried out hundreds of arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of former military personnel and employees of the republican government.” The organization’s statistics show that between August 2021 and June 2023 more than 800 serious human rights violations against former security forces and government officials were recorded. Amnesty International in 2022 stressed: “The Taliban’s announcement of a general amnesty has been nothing but a propaganda tool. Hundreds of former soldiers have been killed or died under torture, and their families still live in fear and uncertainty.” Human Rights Watch in December 2022 wrote: “Across Afghanistan the Taliban have executed dozens of local officials, police officers, and members of the security forces after they surrendered. These crimes are a clear violation of the general amnesty decree.” Beyond extrajudicial killings, the Taliban have violated their “general amnesty” in even more brutal forms: Prisons have turned into systematic torture chambers. Survivors have recounted being beaten with electric cables, sticks, and iron rods. Gang rapes of female civil activists and protesters in prisons have been reported; women who were detained only for protesting or engaging in civil activities. Journalists have been a particular target of the Taliban; multiple cases of ears being cut off, teeth being broken, psychological torture, and disappearances have been recorded. In many provinces, the voices of families whose loved ones were executed without trial or disappeared are still being raised. No One Is Safe Four years after the fall of the republic, Afghanistan has turned into a vast prison. Today no social group is safe: Former soldiers are tortured and executed. Journalists are silenced through physical and psychological violence. Women protesters are subjected to rape and humiliation. Civil and political activists are disappeared or imprisoned in dark cells. Every day from across Afghanistan, new reports of organized and systematic Taliban crimes are heard; crimes that, contrary to the claim of a “general amnesty,” have not only failed to stop but have become part of the governing mechanism of this group. As a result, it must be said that the Taliban are trying to use the narrative of a “general amnesty” as a political bargaining chip with the international community. But the documentation of international institutions and the testimonies of survivors prove that this decree has been nothing but a historical deception. The Taliban’s declaration of a general amnesty in practice has turned into a tool of repression; a tool that under the name of “forgiveness” has taken the lives of hundreds of people, left thousands of families in mourning, and kept millions of Afghan citizens in daily terror.