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Social Media Local Taliban officials in Nangarhar say that a 13 year old child drowned and died while swimming in the Kabul River in Behsud district of the province. Quraishi Badloon, head of information at the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Nangarhar, said the incident occurred on Sunday (12 April) in the “Bili” area of Behsud district. According to him, the body of the child has not yet been recovered, and efforts to search for and retrieve it from the water are ongoing. He added that the child was originally from Kunar province and had recently settled in the district with his family after being deported from Pakistan. It is worth noting that similar incidents are reported every year during the spring and summer in different provinces of the country, with a large number of cases occurring in eastern provinces such as Nangarhar and Kunar.

Photo: © Australian Defence Force / AFP The Australian government has announced that General Susan Coyle has been appointed as the new Chief of Army, making her the first woman to lead one of the main branches of the country’s armed forces. According to a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister, the appointment was confirmed on Monday (13 April). Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister, welcomed the decision and thanked Simon Stuart, the former Chief of Army, for his service. Richard Marles, Australia’s Minister for Defence, described the development as “a historic moment for women in the armed forces”. The statement said that Coyle joined the Australian Army in 1987 and has served in various military roles. She is considered one of the experienced figures in the institution. This comes as women currently make up around 19 to 21 percent of Australia’s defence forces, and their presence in leadership positions has increased in recent years.

Social Media The Taliban have publicly flogged five people, including one woman, in the provinces of Maidan Wardak and Zabul. In statements released on Monday (13 April), the Taliban’s Supreme Court said these individuals had been punished on charges of “adultery and sodomy” and “theft”. One of the statements said that four people, including one woman, were sentenced to two years in prison and 39 lashes on charges of “adultery and sodomy”. Another statement said that in Shahjoy district of Zabul province, one person was sentenced to three years in prison and 39 lashes on charges of “theft”. The Taliban’s Supreme Court said that these punishments were carried out after approval by Taliban judicial authorities in the presence of local officials and residents. This comes as, following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the group has resumed the implementation of punishments such as public flogging. According to reports, from 2021 to the end of 2025, at least 1,848 people, including around 250 women, have been flogged, and approximately 10 to 11 public executions have also been recorded.

Photo: © Shafiullah Kakar / AP The Taliban’s National Disaster Management Authority says that since 26 March, at least 157 people have died as a result of floods and related incidents. Mohammad Yousuf Hammad, spokesperson for the authority, said in a recent video statement that these casualties were caused by floods, heavy rainfall, snowfall and house roof collapses. According to him, 229 people have been injured during this period and nine others remain missing. He added that 80 houses have been completely destroyed and 626 have been partially damaged. Hammad further said that in total 8,526 houses have been completely and partially destroyed and 372 kilometres of roads have been destroyed. According to him, six kilometres of roads, 1,700 jeribs of agricultural land and 218 saplings have also been destroyed. He also said that in the past 24 hours alone, nine people have died, 13 have been injured and one person is missing.

Local Taliban officials in Khost province say that a two year old child has died after falling into a well in the province. According to the Taliban controlled Bakhtar News Agency, on Thursday (9 April), Tahir Ahrar, spokesperson for the Taliban’s police command in Khost, said the incident occurred the previous day in the Harun Khil area, within the ninth security district of Alisher district. Ahrar attributed the incident to parental negligence. He added that after being pulled out of the well by Taliban security forces, the child was transferred to hospital but died despite receiving treatment. This comes as similar incidents of children falling into wells in rural areas of Afghanistan have repeatedly claimed children’s lives. The presence of uncovered or unprotected wells in rural areas is cited as a factor in the recurrence of such incidents.

Social Media Local Taliban officials in Nangarhar have said that seven members of one family were killed following the collapse of a house roof in the province. Quraishi Badloon, head of information at the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Nangarhar, said the incident occurred on Tuesday night (7 April) in the “Kami Tarmi” area of Shirzad district. Badloon said the victims included women and children. The cause of the incident has been attributed to heavy rainfall. He added that with this incident, the number of casualties from rainfall and flooding in the past two days has reached 24 dead and 33 injured. This comes as several similar incidents of house roof collapses have been reported in Nangarhar in recent days.

Photo: © REUTERS / Atlantic Council The United Nations Human Rights Office has stated in a new report that the Taliban’s actions against women in Afghanistan are in contradiction with the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW. The report was published on Thursday (2 April) by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Women, and examines the Taliban’s actions since August 2021 from a legal perspective. The report compares laws and directives issued by the Taliban with Afghanistan’s obligations under the CEDAW convention, stating that a range of restrictions, including the ban on girls’ education above grade six, the prohibition of women’s work in governmental and non governmental institutions, restrictions on movement and the requirement to be accompanied by a male guardian, have been directly imposed on women. According to the report, the closure of girls’ schools has deprived them of the right to education and limited their future opportunities. It also states that the ban on women working in national, international and United Nations institutions has deprived them of access to income and economic independence. The United Nations Human Rights Office emphasised that Afghanistan acceded to this convention in 2003 and is obligated to eliminate discrimination against women in all areas. However, the legal assessment of this body shows that the Taliban’s actions are in contradiction with these obligations. This comes as, following the Taliban’s return to power, women and girls’ access to education, work and social participation has been severely restricted, directly affecting their lives and future.

Source: Emergency website Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, has expressed concern in a statement about casualties caused by explosive devices in Afghanistan, particularly among children, and has called for an immediate increase in financial support for demining programmes. The statement was released on Thursday (2 April) ahead of the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Bennett said that Afghanistan remains among the countries most affected by landmines and unexploded ordnance. According to him, in 2025 alone, 471 civilian casualties were recorded, of which 67 percent were children, mostly boys. He added that around 24 percent of these incidents occur when children are playing, and in some cases while collecting scrap metal. Referring to an incident in January in Kunar province, he said that a five month old infant was killed and six others, including children and adults, were injured when an unexploded ordnance detonated while children were playing with it. Bennett also emphasised that the reduction in international funding in recent years has led to a decline in demining activities, the suspension of some operations and a reduction in educational services, leaving many areas contaminated and putting people, especially children, at continued risk. According to him, demining is essential not only for clearing land but also for children’s access to education, the safe return of displaced people and the fulfilment of fundamental rights such as the right to life and health. It is worth noting that Afghanistan is among the countries most contaminated with landmines, explosive remnants of war, cluster munitions and improvised explosive devices, with more than 1,000 square kilometres of land reportedly affected. Around 2.7 million people live within one kilometre of these areas. The International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed annually on 4 April, a day designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 to raise awareness of the dangers of mines, support the clearance of contaminated areas and assist victims, particularly children.

Social Media The Taliban’s Supreme Court has announced that 19 people, including one woman, have been publicly flogged in the provinces of Ghor, Balkh and Nimroz. In statements released today, Thursday (2 April), the court said these individuals had been convicted of “moral corruption, beating a father, illicit relations, theft and sodomy”. According to the court, in Saghar district of Ghor province, a woman convicted of “moral corruption” was sentenced to 10 lashes, which was carried out after approval by the Taliban’s Supreme Court. In Nimroz province, 17 people convicted of “beating a father, illicit relations, theft and sodomy” were sentenced to punishments ranging from five months to eight years in prison and 15 to 39 lashes, which were carried out in the presence of Taliban judicial officials. Meanwhile, in Shortepa district of Balkh province, one person convicted of “sodomy” was sentenced to two years in prison and 30 lashes, which was carried out after approval by the Taliban’s Supreme Court at a public gathering. It is worth noting that since returning to power, the Taliban have increased the use of corporal punishment in public, a trend that has particularly exposed women to violence and public punishment.

Following the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan’s media environment has faced unprecedented restrictions, with women journalists bearing the greatest impact. Bans on women’s work, security pressure and widespread censorship have led many female journalists to lose their jobs, and the country’s media outlets have gradually become single gender. Women journalists say that although their income from media work was limited, that small salary still played an important role in meeting their basic needs. Shakila Younesi, a journalist, told Zan News, “I am currently just sitting at home. If my husband can bring two pieces of dry bread at night, that is fine, if not, we all go to bed hungry.” Mursal Ebrahimi, another journalist, says she lost her job at a visual media outlet following Taliban restrictions on publishing images of living beings, “The Department for the Promotion of Virtue in our province called the media owner and said you are not allowed to publish images of living beings and it is forbidden, especially images of women. I am currently unemployed.” Karishma, another journalist from the south west of the country, recounts, “The Taliban forcibly pulled me out of the media and said I have no right to work because I am a woman.” Nazila Foroutan, another journalist, also reports violent treatment by the Taliban, “The Taliban broke my camera while I was filming and warned me that if I did not stop my work and reporting, they would take action against me. After that, I could no longer continue my work.” Taliban pressure is not limited to women journalists, media owners have also faced threats, censorship and economic difficulties. One media owner in the west of the country, who did not want to be named, says, “The Taliban wants the media to be its propaganda tool. They told me to publish only content that serves the government’s interests, and when I refused, I was forced to stop my media activities.” Another media owner in the southern region says, “The Taliban sees the media as its enemy. There is nothing left now except that they either order us to work in their favour or to stop working.” Organisations supporting journalists and media emphasise that over the past four years, the presence of women journalists in Afghanistan’s media has significantly declined. According to statistics provided by one media support organisation, there are currently only 963 women journalists working across Afghanistan, while during the republic period more than 2,500 women journalists were actively present in the media. These figures and accounts show that Taliban policies have not only targeted the right to work and freedom of expression of women journalists, but have also severely restricted citizens’ access to independent and balanced information. The silencing of women journalists and the shift towards single gender media pose a serious threat to the future of media freedom and social transparency in Afghanistan.