Zan News: Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, has strongly criticized the Taliban's enactment of the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, calling it "100 pages of hatred against women." Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated German Foreign Minister: The Taliban's New Law is 100 Pages of Hatred Against Women August 24, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, has strongly criticized the Taliban's enactment of the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, calling it "100 pages of hatred against women." In a post published on X on Friday (August 23), Baerbock emphasized that "these inhumane laws deprive Afghan women of their dignity, rights, and voice." The German Foreign Minister added that by enacting this law, the Taliban aim to silence half of Afghanistan's population, This action once again demonstrates that it is impossible to establish relations with radical Islamists. The Taliban's "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law, enacted in four chapters and 37 articles, imposes severe restrictions on women's dress and behavior in society. According to this law, women's voices, faces, and bodies are defined as "awrah" (parts of the body that must be covered) and their appearance in public places is considered a crime.

Zan News: A conference aimed at empowering Afghan women entrepreneurs and highlighting their vital role in improving Afghanistan's economic situation and financial resilience will be held at the London School of Economics and Political Science. File photo: DVIDS / Public Domain A Conference Aimed at Empowering Afghan Women Entrepreneurs will be Held in London June 3, 2024 Zan News Zan News: A conference aimed at empowering Afghan women entrepreneurs and highlighting their vital role in improving Afghanistan's economic situation and financial resilience will be held at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Nazifa Haqpal, a former Afghan diplomat, announced the event in a newsletter on her X account, stating that the conference will focus on recognizing gender apartheid, finding ways to support women entrepreneurs, and addressing the obstacles they face in Afghanistan and Britain. The conference, which will take place today, Monday, June 3rd, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, will bring together entrepreneurs, researchers, businesspeople, and policymakers. The main themes of the conference are the importance of Afghan women in strengthening the economy and combating the prevailing gender apartheid, removing the obstacles facing women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Britain, sharing their experiences, and exploring better ways to support their activities. This comes as since the Taliban took power in August 2021 and imposed over 50 restrictive decrees on women and girls, they have been deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to education, work, travel, recreation, and political participation. The Taliban have also been accused by countries around the world of human rights abuses for marginalizing women and girls over the past nearly three years.

Zan News: Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, has stated that normalizing relations with the Taliban is contingent upon significant changes to the group’s behavior regarding human rights, and that there is substantial consensus on this matter within the international community. File photo: Voice of America / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain US: Normalizing Relations with Taliban Contingent on Significant Changes to Their Human Rights Behavior October 9, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, has stated that normalizing relations with the Taliban is contingent upon significant changes to the group’s behavior regarding human rights, and that there is substantial consensus on this matter within the international community. Miller made these remarks during a press briefing on Tuesday (October 8) in response to a question about the US view on Russia's decision to remove the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations. He said: "We have not changed our designation of the Taliban as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization, and we continue to make clear that any significant steps toward normalization would be conditioned on fundamental changes to the Taliban’s human rights behavior. There is significant unity in the international community on this issue." Miller added that while the US has not listed the Taliban as a terrorist organization, it considers the Haqqani network, led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister of the Taliban, to be a terrorist organization. It's worth noting that some Central Asian countries have removed the Taliban from their lists of terrorist organizations, and Russia has also stated that it will soon make a decision on this matter. The US State Department spokesperson emphasized that the rights of women and girls are a priority in US human rights policy, and that they are exerting pressure on the Taliban to this end. He added: "We will continue to work with our allies and partners to pressure the Taliban to repeal their discriminatory decrees and to ensure that any significant steps toward normalization are conditioned on fundamental improvements in their treatment of women and girls, but not limited to the return of girls to school and the lifting of restrictions on women's employment." He also explained the removal of the US special envoy for Afghanistan post, stating that all the activities of this post will be carried out by the chargé d'affaires of the US embassy to Afghanistan and the special envoy for women and human rights, and that policy priorities will remain unchanged. Regarding the threat of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Miller emphasized that the US's primary interest in Afghanistan has been and will continue to be to ensure that the country is never used as a launchpad for terrorist attacks against the United States. He added that the US will remain incredibly vigilant against any terrorist threats to the United States and its allies.

Zan News: A group of Afghan women protesters, protest movements, and human rights activists have written an open letter to Donald Trump, the newly elected President of the United States, urging him to revoke the Doha Agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Afghan Women Protesters and Human Rights Activists Call on Donald Trump to Revoke the Doha Agreement November 24, 2024 Zan News Zan News: A group of Afghan women protesters, protest movements, and human rights activists have written an open letter to Donald Trump, the newly elected President of the United States, urging him to revoke the Doha Agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban. The letter emphasizes that the Doha Agreement has not brought peace and stability to Afghanistan but has instead had "catastrophic" consequences for the country. The signatories highlighted the domestic repercussions of the agreement, including the suppression and torture of women and girls, persecution of minorities, war crimes, targeted assassinations, weakening of media freedoms and civil institutions, increased drug production and trafficking, forced displacements, and the refugee crisis. They also pointed to international consequences, such as strengthening global terrorism, escalating regional instability, establishing a dangerous governance model, and increasing organized crime. The Afghan women protesters and human rights activists have called on the U.S. President-elect to adopt a principled and fair approach toward Afghanistan, support the prosecution of Taliban leaders, and increase diplomatic pressure on the group. It is worth mentioning that the Doha Agreement, signed between the U.S. and the Taliban in February 2020, paved the way for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. Following the agreement, Taliban attacks against the former Afghan government intensified, ultimately leading to the collapse of the previous government just 15 days before the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Zan News: Oxford University will host an event to highlight the violations of women's rights in Afghanistan. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Oxford University to Host Event to Highlighting Violations of Afghan Women's Rights December 7, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Oxford University will host an event to highlight the violations of women's rights in Afghanistan. The university announced in a newsletter that the event will be held on Saturday (December 7) by the Women's Rights Network (WRN). According to the newsletter, this event will be part of a series of vigils at Oxford University. Heather Binning, the founder of the Women's Rights Network, said that the recent Taliban decree banning girls from health institutes has worsened the situation. The network has called on the British government to break its silence on the violations of women's rights under the Taliban regime and to support the prosecution of the group in the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, several countries, including Chile, Spain, Mexico, France, Luxembourg, and Costa Rica, have referred the case of Afghan women's rights violations to the International Criminal Court. It is worth noting that in recent days, several countries and human rights organizations have called for the prosecution of the Taliban in the International Criminal Court.

Zan News: Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, in response to the Taliban's decision to ban women's education in medical institutions in Afghanistan, stated that this move has destroyed one of the few remaining opportunities for Afghan women. File photo: Sgt. Ken Scar / DVIDS / Public Domain Australian Foreign Minister: The Taliban Have Eliminated One of the Few Remaining Opportunities for Women December 8, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, in response to the Taliban's decision to ban women's education in medical institutions in Afghanistan, stated that this move has destroyed one of the few remaining opportunities for Afghan women. On Saturday, Penny Wong emphasized in a message on the platform X that this decision by the Taliban highlights the need to hold the group accountable under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She stated, "The Taliban's ban on women studying nursing and midwifery eliminates one of the few remaining opportunities for women's education and employment." She also warned that this decision "puts lives at risk." Penny Wong further stressed that the Taliban's recent decision underscores the importance of Australia’s efforts to hold Afghanistan accountable under the CEDAW framework. Notably, Australia, alongside Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada, was among the first countries to announce that they would file a complaint against the Taliban in the International Criminal Court (ICC). This initiative has garnered support from more than 20 countries worldwide. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently announced that it has begun investigations into gender-based violence against women in Afghanistan, with results expected to be released soon. Karim Khan, the ICC's Chief Prosecutor, recently met with several Afghan women activists and assured them that good news is forthcoming. This comes after the Taliban leader ordered the closure of medical education institutions to Afghan women and girls last week—a decision that has sparked widespread international condemnation. However, Taliban officials in Kabul have yet to comment on this decision.

Zan News: The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has expressed concern about the rising rates of forced and early marriages of Afghan girls and called for their protection. File photo: Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika / U.S. Army National Guard / Public Domain U.S. Embassy: The Rate of Forced and Early Marriages of Afghan Girls Has Increased December 7, 2024 Zan News Zan News: The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan has expressed concern about the rising rates of forced and early marriages of Afghan girls and called for their protection. In a video message released on Friday (December 6) to mark the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence, the embassy stated that the closure of schools for girls has led to an increase in forced and early marriages. Joel Sandefur, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission, stated in the message that, following the closure of girls' schools above the sixth grade by the Taliban, forced marriages have increased by 25% and early marriages by 45%. The U.S. Embassy has expressed concern over these statistics and emphasized that this trend is presenting Afghan women with serious social and economic challenges. The embassy also called the Taliban's "promotion of virtue" law as being dangerous for women. This comes after previous warnings from human rights organizations about the increase in forced and early marriages of girls under Taliban rule.

Zan News: Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesperson, has claimed that Afghan women and girls are living in physical and psychological security and that their rights are ensured according to Islamic Sharia law. File photo: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Mujahid: Women and Girls in Afghanistan Enjoy Physical and Psychological Security March 8, 2025 Zan News Zan News: Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesperson, has claimed that Afghan women and girls are living in physical and psychological security and that their rights are ensured according to Islamic Sharia law. On Saturday (March 8), coinciding with International Women’s Day, Mujahid stated that women’s rights in an Islamic society differ from Western standards and emphasized that "preserving women’s chastity, dignity, and Sharia-based rights is one of the Taliban’s main priorities." These claims come as human rights organizations have expressed deep concerns over the dire situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, warning about the rise in forced marriages, widespread mental health disorders, and increasing suicide cases among girls. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghan women and girls have been deprived of their fundamental rights, including access to education, employment, and personal freedoms.

Zan News: Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, has called for protest of the countries of the world the Taliban's "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Hillary Clinton Calls for World's Protest Against New Taliban Law August 29, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. Secretary of State, has called for protest of the countries of the world the Taliban's "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law. On Wednesday night (August 28), Clinton wrote on her X account, "Want to see the outcome of foolish fundamentalism? Look no further than the Taliban’s new law, which forbids women from speaking outside their homes." She emphasized that "the world must speak out against this latest act of hate." This reaction comes after Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, recently ratified the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" law. This law, now in effect, mandates that women cover their entire bodies and declares women's voices as part of "awrah" (something that must be covered). It also imposes extensive restrictions on individual and collective behaviors. The Taliban's actions have sparked widespread international reactions and condemnation.

Zan News: A number of women, civil society activists, and human rights defenders in Afghanistan have sent an open letter to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, asking him to support human rights in Afghanistan. Illustration: Zan TV / AI-generated Afghan Activists Asked Putin to Support Human Rights in Afghanistan in an Open Letter December 31, 2024 Zan News Zan News: A number of women, civil society activists, and human rights defenders in Afghanistan have sent an open letter to Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, asking him to support human rights in Afghanistan. These activists expressed their concerns on Monday (30 December) about the recent decision of the Russian government to remove the Taliban from the list of terrorist organizations. In this letter, sent on behalf of women’s protest movements, civil society, and cultural and political figures in Afghanistan, the historical relations between the two countries are referenced, and it is emphasized that Russia’s past cooperation in Afghanistan, especially during the reconstruction period, is still remembered by the people of Afghanistan. The writers of the letter stated that Putin's recent decision to remove the Taliban from the blacklist is a hasty and dangerous action, the consequences of which will be severe for the people of Afghanistan, particularly for women. They warned that this action will not only strengthen the power of the Taliban and intensify violence and human rights violations in Afghanistan, but it will also threaten regional and international security. These human rights activists have called on Russia to exert more pressure on the Taliban regarding human rights and to collaborate with human rights organizations and the international community to address this threat. They also emphasized that Russia, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, should play a more prominent role in supporting the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. The writers of this letter said that they have sent it to the President of Russia with hope that the voice of justice will be heard and in pursuit of supporting the rights of women and the people of Afghanistan.