Photo: EPA-EFE/Mads Claus Rasmussen The Danish government has announced that military service is now mandatory for women, in a move aimed at strengthening national defense amid heightened security tensions in Europe. According to Reuters, this decision is based on legislation passed by the Danish parliament in June 2023, which came into effect on Tuesday (July 1, 2025). Under the new law, all girls who turn 18 after this date are required to register for conscription assessment. Previously, women could only join the military voluntarily. However, last year, women accounted for around 24 percent of new recruits. Katrine, a soldier in Denmark’s Royal Guard, told Reuters: “Given the current state of the world, it's necessary to increase the number of soldiers. I believe women should participate in this process just like men.” The Danish government also announced that the duration of military service will be extended from four months to 11 months, and the number of conscripts is expected to rise to 7,500 by 2033. Officials stated that the goal of these reforms is to enhance the country’s defense readiness and meet the demands of a modern army; one that is increasingly prepared to accommodate female soldiers.

Photo: AFP Al Jazeera has reported that more than 30 Palestinians were killed on Wednesday (2 July) in Israeli air and drone strikes on the Gaza Strip. According to the report, six people were killed when an Israeli drone targeted tents housing displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Health sources confirmed that ten others, most of them children, were wounded in the same attack. In another incident, a house in the Tuffah area was bombed, killing four people, including two children. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel has agreed to terms for finalizing a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza.

Photo: © UNICEF/South-Asia Iranian authorities have announced that more than 500,000 undocumented Afghan migrants have been returned to Afghanistan since the beginning of the current year. Nader Yarahmadi, head of Iran’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs, stated on Tuesday (1 July) that these individuals were identified across various regions of Iran and deported through the Milak and Dogharoun border crossings. He described the deportation process as one of the “public demands” and urged Iranian citizens to cooperate with relevant authorities in identifying undocumented migrants. Yarahmadi emphasized that this process is ongoing. This comes amid a sharp rise in the forced deportation of Afghan migrants from both Iran and Pakistan in recent months. Domestic and international aid organizations have described the situation of returnees as “catastrophic.” According to these organizations, deported migrants often arrive at the border lacking access to basic necessities such as drinking water, medical services, shelter, and adequate food. Reports also indicate that many families are separated during the deportation process, with a significant number of children entering Afghanistan unaccompanied. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also reported that, as a result of these mass deportations, more than 5,000 Afghan children have been separated from their families.

Sent to Zan TV The Independent Coalition of Afghanistan’s Women’s Protest Movements has voiced strong opposition to what it describes as the “intervention, distortion, and political exploitation” of women’s protest efforts by Fawzia Koofi. On Tuesday (1 July), members of the coalition held a protest gathering in Islamabad, Pakistan, stating that Fawzia Koofi, former member of Afghanistan’s parliament, is attempting to turn grassroots women’s movements into tools for personal and party propaganda. The coalition’s statement reads: “Fawzia Koofi is one of the failed faces of the previous power structure; a system that led Afghanistan into corruption, dependence, and collapse.” It adds that the continued presence of such figures in the media, instead of amplifying the voices of genuine protesters, only recycles failed past narratives. The statement stresses that Fawzia Koofi has never been a representative of the protesting women and is instead seeking to exploit the pain and suffering of Afghan women for her own political gain. The coalition further noted that while many women have paid a high price for freedom through protests, imprisonment, and exile, Koofi is attempting to use these sacrifices for her personal branding and political leverage. The coalition also called on media outlets to refrain from labeling individuals or groups affiliated with Koofi’s institutions or networks as part of the “protest movement” or “protesters.” The statement concludes: “True protest movements arise from the direct will of oppressed, imprisoned, exiled, and voiceless women, not from pre-designed political agendas.”

Social Media Local sources in Helmand province say a man in Nad Ali district has killed his 25-year-old wife with multiple stab wounds. According to the sources, the incident took place on Monday (30 June) in the village of Shawol in Nad Ali district. Medical staff at Helmand Provincial Hospital in Bost city have confirmed that the body of a woman named Zarghona was transferred to the facility. They stated she was killed by repeated knife stabs. So far, local Taliban officials in Helmand have not commented on the incident, and the motive behind the killing remains unknown. This comes amid a rise in cases of women being killed by close relatives following the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. Human rights organizations have cited increased domestic violence and women’s lack of access to support and justice mechanisms as key factors contributing to such killings.

Sent to Zan TV A landmine left over from past conflicts has exploded in Ghor province, killing two people, including a child. Local sources told Zan News that the incident occurred on Tuesday (1 July) in the Band Bayan area, located in the city of Firozkoh, the provincial capital. According to sources and eyewitnesses, the explosion happened while the victims were passing through the area with their livestock. Sources added that two people were killed and another was injured as a result of the explosion. Rassas Badri, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Ghor, confirmed the incident but has not yet provided any details. This comes as landmines and unexploded ordnance from past wars remain a serious threat to Afghan civilians, especially children. According to the United Nations, around 3.3 million people in Afghanistan live near areas contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance.

Image Credit: Human Rights Watch According to a recent study published in the medical journal The Lancet, the severe decline in U.S. foreign aid, especially following decisions made under the Trump administration, could lead to the deaths of more than 14 million people worldwide by 2030, including 4.5 million children under the age of five. The study shows that humanitarian and health programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over the past two decades have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, including 30 million children. These programs have played a vital role in areas such as prevention and treatment of infectious diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, as well as maternal and child healthcare. Researchers warn that halting programs such as PEPFAR (the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) could put one million children at risk of contracting HIV and place at least 500,000 children in danger of death by 2030. In Afghanistan, the consequences of U.S. aid cuts have directly impacted women’s lives. According to the study, ending financial support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) could expose more than 100,000 women to unintended pregnancies and 1,200 women to death from pregnancy-related complications. This budget reduction has also led to the closure of hundreds of mobile clinics and health centers, limiting access to healthcare services for around 9 million people in Afghanistan. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), has warned that disruptions to the global health budget could lead to 2,000 new HIV infections per day and a tenfold increase in AIDS-related deaths. Meanwhile, aid organizations emphasize that this funding gap has created an urgent need to restore resources or secure participation from other governments to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Image Credit: Reuters / via Al Arabiya English The human rights organization Hengaw has reported that in just the first six months of 2025, the Islamic Republic of Iran has executed at least 617 people. Among those executed were 40 Afghan citizens, 18 women, and one child. The report, published on Tuesday (1 July), warns of a rise in executions, arbitrary arrests, systematic violence, and human rights violations across Iran. According to the organization, 41 of those executed were put to death secretly, without a final visit with their families. Only 38 of the executions were officially announced by Iranian state media. Additionally, 26 individuals were executed on charges such as “political activity,” “religious activity,” “participation in protests,” and “espionage for Israel.” During the same period, 29 prisoners also died in Iranian prisons. Hengaw added that five other political activists were sentenced to death during this time. In addition, 150 political activists were collectively sentenced to more than 400 years of imprisonment, 20 years of suspended sentences, and 466 lashes. Iranian authorities have not yet responded to the report. It is worth noting that Iran’s judiciary has repeatedly sentenced citizens, including women, to death on broad and vague charges.

Image Credit: France 24 In the latest Israeli airstrikes and shootings on the Gaza Strip, at least 60 people have been killed, including women, children, and a journalist. According to Reuters, the attacks took place on Monday (30 June) across several areas of the Gaza Strip. The report states that 22 people, including women, children, and a local journalist, were killed in an attack on a beachfront café in Gaza City. Doctors reported that 10 people were killed in the Zaytoun area, and 13 others were shot dead by Israeli forces in the southwest of Gaza City. The rest of the victims were killed in separate attacks across various parts of Gaza. This comes as the Israeli military had called on residents of northern Gaza to evacuate the area and move southward to the Al-Mawasi zone in Khan Younis.

Photograph by Gustavo Valiente/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images The British media outlet Hyphen has reported in a recent article that nearly four years after the Taliban’s return to power, the European Union has failed to fulfill its promises to protect and provide asylum for Afghan women. The report, published on Monday (30 June), includes interviews with four Afghan women now living in various European countries. Their experiences reveal a painful journey through difficult asylum processes, uncertainty, sexual harassment, poverty, and neglect of their basic needs. One of these women, Zainab, an art teacher from Kabul, said she lost her job at a school and a beauty salon after the Taliban took control of the city and was confined to her home for months. In late 2023, she went to Iran to apply for a humanitarian visa. Amid nationwide protests in Iran and with limited financial resources, she lived in fear of deportation for weeks. After eight months of waiting, she finally received her visa in June 2024 and arrived alone in France. Zainab now lives in the suburbs of Paris and receives only 200 euros per month. She says, “It is impossible to survive on this money.” Due to her lack of French language skills, she struggles with complex asylum systems and social services in isolation. “Once, I waited in line for food aid for six hours, but when I asked if the food was halal, they yelled at me.” Homeira, a women’s rights activist, was stuck in Pakistan before reaching Spain with a humanitarian visa. She says that during her first months in a refugee shelter in Madrid, she was sexually harassed. According to her, the response from support institutions destroyed her hope of finding safety in Europe. “When I shared the incident with social workers, they dismissed it as a cultural misunderstanding and said, ‘This is Europe, not Afghanistan.’” She received a single counseling session, which she found helpful, but she still struggles with the trauma. Roya, a 22-year-old from Kabul, is a survivor of the 2022 suicide bombing at the Kaj education center, which killed 53 students. After six months of medical treatment in Islamabad, she traveled to Madrid in March 2023 with a humanitarian visa. Although she thought she had reached safety, she says, “The hardest part of the journey was just beginning” — from uncertainty and long waits to confusion in the asylum system. In September 2024, Roya received an email stating that her application to reunite with her elderly parents and two younger siblings had been accepted. But months later, the request was inexplicably denied. She says the situation has caused her deep anxiety and psychological distress. Parasto, a human rights lawyer from Ghazni, was evacuated from Kabul Airport in 2021 and ended up in Warsaw, Poland, via a military flight instead of being relocated to the United States. She spent five months in a refugee camp before local Polish women helped her contact a law office and eventually secure residency. Sahar Fetrat, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said, “Many Afghan women are forced to undertake dangerous journeys with their children, crossing multiple borders while facing harassment, intimidation, violence, and unlawful deportations.” She added, “The lack of safe and legal pathways has left many of these women arriving in Europe with severe psychological trauma. They need immediate mental health support, but such services are often not accessible to them because they are still waiting for their asylum applications to be processed.” This comes despite a December 2021 pledge from 15 European Union member states to resettle 40,000 Afghan refugees in response to the worsening human rights situation in Afghanistan. The program was designed to provide long-term protection to those unable to return to their country. In October 2024, the European Court of Justice also ruled that every Afghan woman fleeing the Taliban “has sufficient grounds to be granted asylum.” However, human rights groups have warned that in practice, no clear and legal safe routes have yet been established for these women. Meanwhile, the European Union claimed that between 2021 and 2023, it had accepted 41,500 Afghans. But according to UNHCR data from August 2023, only 329 Afghan refugees had been formally resettled in four European countries, while the majority remain in limbo. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has described the situation as a “shocking neglect.”