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Zan News: Malala Yousafzai, a children’s education activist and Nobel Prize winner, has once again urged countries around the world to recognize the "Taliban regime" as an example of "gender apartheid." Social Media Malala Yousafzai: The Taliban Regime Must Be Recognized as an Example of "Gender Apartheid" October 31, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Malala Yousafzai, a children’s education activist and Nobel Prize winner, has once again urged countries around the world to recognize the "Taliban regime" as an example of "gender apartheid." In a message posted on her X account, she called on members of Parliament and ministers in Britain to formally acknowledge the Taliban regime as "gender apartheid." During this meeting, human rights activists emphasized the necessity of holding the Taliban accountable for their severe restrictions against women and girls, expressing hope that the British Parliament and government would take effective steps through practical actions and serious follow-ups to support the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that since their return to power, the Taliban have imposed strict laws severely limiting women's access to education, employment, and participation in society. Many human rights activists and international organizations consider these actions to be instances of systematic gender oppression, calling for immediate action from the global community to combat it.

Zan News: Kamala Harris' campaign, the Democratic candidate in the upcoming U.S. elections, has announced that Nasreen Barakzai, an Afghan-American lawyer, has been appointed as an advisor on issues related to Muslim and Arab communities in America. Social Media Afghan-American Woman Appointed as Advisor to Kamala Harris' Campaign August 18, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Kamala Harris' campaign, the Democratic candidate in the upcoming U.S. elections, has announced that Nasreen Barakzai, an Afghan-American lawyer, has been appointed as an advisor on issues related to Muslim and Arab communities in America. According to NBC News, Nasreen Barakzai served as a political advisor on Muslim affairs, Arab issues, the Gaza conflict, reproductive rights, voting, and democracy in Vice President Kamala Harris' office from 2021 until July of this year. The Harris campaign officials emphasized that Barakzai will take on a similar role in Harris' campaign. This appointment comes at a time when American Muslims, particularly Arabs, are dissatisfied with the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris due to President Joe Biden's policies on the Gaza conflict and his strong support for Israel. These communities believe that Kamala Harris will continue Biden's policies regarding Gaza and Israel. Barakzai's primary role in the campaign will be to engage with and garner support from Muslim and Arab communities in the U.S. for Kamala Harris. In a statement, Nasreen Barakzai expressed her pleasure with the appointment, saying, "I am honored to continue my work with the Vice President and provide counsel on a wide range of important issues in this election, from democracy and reproductive rights to Muslim and Arab affairs." Nasreen Barakzai was born in 1979 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, she and her family migrated to Pakistan. After three years in Pakistan, they moved to the U.S. in 1985, and she graduated from Berkeley Law School in 2005. Before joining the U.S. Vice President's office, she worked as a legal expert and national security attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ). This Afghan-American lawyer also has experience teaching at Stanford Law School and working with major law firms in the U.S.

Zan News: The Supreme Court of the Taliban has announced that one woman and two men were publicly flogged in the "Kuz Kunar" district of Nangarhar on charges of "illicit relationships." Photo: AFP Taliban Flog One Woman and Two Men in Nangarhar January 30, 2025 Zan News Zan News: The Supreme Court of the Taliban has announced that one woman and two men were publicly flogged in the "Kuz Kunar" district of Nangarhar on charges of "illicit relationships." In a statement, the court stated that these individuals were each lashed 39 times on Monday (27 January) based on the ruling of the primary court of Kuz Kunar district. The flogging sentence was carried out after being approved by the Taliban's chief justice. This action comes as the Taliban publicly flogged one woman and two men in Panjshir province just yesterday. It is worth noting that since their return to power, the Taliban have repeatedly carried out public corporal punishment against accused individuals and have so far executed six people. International human rights organizations have condemned such punishments as violations of international law and human dignity, calling for their immediate cessation. These actions by the Taliban have been met with widespread condemnation from human rights activists and global organizations.

Zan News: The Purple Saturdays Movement, on the occasion of Yalda Night, has called on the people of Afghanistan to honor this ancient tradition and deliver a message of resistance and protest against the Taliban to the world. Sent to Zan TV Purple Saturdays Movement: Yalda Night as an Opportunity to Send a Message of Resistance and Protest Against the Taliban December 18, 2024 Zan News Zan News: The Purple Saturdays Movement, on the occasion of Yalda Night, has called on the people of Afghanistan to honor this ancient tradition and deliver a message of resistance and protest against the Taliban to the world. In its latest statement, published on Wednesday (December 18), the movement invited all cultural figures, artists, poets, writers, social activists, women's protest movements, and other Afghan citizens to organize cultural and creative programs to amplify their message of resistance and protest against the Taliban. The statement described the Taliban as a "anti-cultural and anti-civilization " group that, through repression and the instrumentalization of religion, seeks to destroy Afghanistan's cultural and identity foundations. It emphasized that Yalda Night, as an ancient tradition symbolizing the victory of light over darkness and wisdom over ignorance, can be a clear message of hope and resistance for the people of Afghanistan against the Taliban. The statement further declared: "The self-proclaimed Taliban regime, as an embodiment of tyranny and an architecture of oppression, is as fleeting as the darkest night." The Purple Saturdays Movement called on the people of Afghanistan to demonstrate, through Yalda programs and celebrations, that the nation, especially its women, believes in the end of the current dark days and carries hope within despair. The statement concluded by emphasizing that Yalda Night can serve as an opportunity to send a unified message of collective resistance against the Taliban and their tyranny to the global community. It also urged the international community to support the people of Afghanistan, especially women, vulnerable ethnic groups, and religious minorities.

Zan News: The Taliban's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs claims that in the first three months of the current solar year, over one thousand women have been provided with job opportunities in the group's administration. Taliban: For Over One Thousand Women Provided Job Opportunities in the First Three Months of This Year July 14, 2024 Zan News Zan News: The Taliban's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs claims that in the first three months of the current solar year, over one thousand women have been provided with job opportunities in the group's administration. On Sunday (July 14), this ministry published a message on X stating that since the beginning of the current solar year, 1,221 women have been employed in the group's offices. According to the ministry, during this period, 14,570 men have also been employed. The Taliban's claim regarding the employment of women comes at a time when thousands of women have been confined to their homes following the group's rise to power. Additionally, the Taliban leader's latest decree set the salary for female employees in government offices at five thousand Afghanis.

Zan News: Local sources in Nangarhar have reported that the body of a child showing signs of "torture" was found in the grounds of the provincial hospital. Sent to Media Body of Tortured Child Found in Nangarhar Hospital Grounds November 20, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Local sources in Nangarhar have reported that the body of a child showing signs of "torture" was found in the grounds of the provincial hospital. Sources told the media that the child’s body was discovered late yesterday, Tuesday (19 November). According to the sources, the body was placed by unknown individuals in front of the morgue. No further information about the incident has been provided, but reports indicate that signs of torture were visible on the child’s body. Local Taliban authorities in Nangarhar have not yet responded to this incident.

Zan News: The UN Women, in a report, has expressed concern over the catastrophic consequences of depriving Afghan women and girls of their rights and has called for global action on this issue. UN Women: The Deprivation of Women and Girls in Afghanistan is Catastrophic; Global Action is Needed July 2, 2024 Zan News Zan News: The UN Women, in a report, has expressed concern over the catastrophic consequences of depriving Afghan women and girls of their rights and has called for global action on this issue. The report states that with the Taliban's restrictions on girls' education beyond the sixth grade, about 1.1 million girls have been deprived of education. The UN Women describes the current situation in Afghanistan as an unprecedented international challenge for targeted interventions on gender equality. It should be mentioned that since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, they have stripped women and girls of their basic rights. Through various decrees, the group has targeted the country's gender equality infrastructure and suspended the activities of related organizations. The Taliban abolished the Ministry of Women's Affairs, which had been actively promoting women's rights during the two decades of the republic's governance. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice now operates in its building. The Human Rights Commission's activities have also been suspended, and women have been banned from working in judicial and legal institutions. The UN Women report states that the Taliban have systematically dismantled all institutions and infrastructure that worked towards women's empowerment and gender equality between 2001 and 2021. The report adds that with the prohibition of these organizations' activities, collecting data on gender equality issues in Afghanistan has become difficult. Additionally, the report mentions that it has been over a thousand days since the ban on girls' education in Afghanistan was imposed, and women and girls are deprived of the most basic and fundamental rights besides education. The release of this report by the UN Women comes as the United Nations hosts an international meeting on Afghanistan in Doha without the presence of women.

Zan News: Local sources in Takhar province report that a Taliban member has arbitrarily closed two health centers in the maternal health sector in the Dashti Qala district of this province and has expelled the female staff from these centers. Social Media A Taliban Member Closed Two Maternal Health Centers in Takhar October 14, 2024 Zan News Zan News: Local sources in Takhar province report that a Taliban member has arbitrarily closed two health centers in the maternal health sector in the Dashti Qala district of this province and has expelled the female staff from these centers. According to sources, Mawlawi Zainuddin, the head of the Taliban's orders and decrees in Dashti Qala district, closed these two maternal health centers, which were managed by women. This Taliban member has warned women to avoid being present in these centers at night and declared that women's work outside the home is against the orders of the group's leader. Mawlawi Zainuddin has also warned the officials of these health centers that if they disobey his orders, they will be imprisoned. The Taliban's health department officials in Takhar have not yet commented on this action. It's worth noting that previously, the Taliban had taken steps to segregate the working sections for women and men in hospitals within this province.

Learn more about Hamid Samar, founder of Zan TV, the first women-led media outlet in Afghanistan, dedicated to empowering Afghan women. Founder & CEO Hamid Samar Email: hamid@zantvnetwork.com Contact : My Story Hamid Samar is an Afghan media entrepreneur and the founder of Zan TV, the first television channel in Afghanistan created to amplify women’s voices and stories. He has launched several media initiatives that created job opportunities for Afghans both inside and outside the country. In 2016, he founded RASA TV in Nangarhar province to expand access to local media. A year later, he launched Zan TV, a unique platform that gave Afghan women a space to speak, report, and participate in journalism. To help more women enter the field, Samar also established the Zan Media Academy, a practical training center for aspiring women journalists. Since the political changes in 2021, Samar has continued his work under difficult conditions. With a team, he has kept Zan TV active on digital platforms, staying committed to the channel’s original goal of supporting Afghan women through media and storytelling.

Zan News - Ghor: Residents of Ghor province, who lost their homes and livelihoods due to heavy rainfall and flooding in the first months of the current solar year, are on one hand concerned about the lack of shelter and heating facilities for the winter season, and on the other hand, they complain about the unfair distribution of humanitarian aid under the Taliban's supervision. Photo: EU/ECHO Pierre Prakash via Flickr Flood Victims in Ghor Complain About Unfair Distribution of Humanitarian Aid Under the Taliban February 23, 2025 Ariahn Raya Zan News - Ghor: Residents of Ghor province, who lost their homes and livelihoods due to heavy rainfall and flooding in the first months of the current solar year, are on one hand concerned about the lack of shelter and heating facilities for the winter season, and on the other hand, they complain about the unfair distribution of humanitarian aid under the Taliban's supervision. Fariba, a 43-year-old mother of eight, spends the cold winter nights—when the temperature in this province occasionally drops to minus twenty degrees Celsius—in an old tent without any heating facilities. In an interview with Zan News, she says: "Look at what kind of life we are living, full of misery and hardship. Rain and snow pour through the top of the tent, and the bottom is damp and muddy. We live in these conditions, yet when aid arrives, it doesn’t reach the poor and strangers. The Mullahs [Taliban] give it to their relatives and friends. May God provide for us." Gul Bibi, another flood victim from the Balamarghab district of this province, who is responsible for five children, complains about the unfair distribution of humanitarian aid under the Taliban's supervision. She says that despite being deprived of her rights by the Taliban, she cannot raise her voice to complain because she is a woman. "Because I am a woman, and a widow at that, they take away my rights. A while ago, the Taliban came and inspected everyone's houses. They gave houses to some people they knew, but we are still left out in the cold. I can't even complain because I am a widow woman." On the other hand, a number of women's rights activists in Afghanistan have expressed concern over the cold winter weather and the lack of access to humanitarian aid for flood victims, especially women. Sohaila Mobasher, a women's rights activist, says: "It is true that flood victims are facing a shortage of resources, but women who are the breadwinners of their families must be prioritized because the cold weather and lack of food have put this group at risk of death." This comes as some aid organizations have halted their operations in Afghanistan due to the Taliban's interference in their work and the distribution of humanitarian aid. It is worth noting that the Norwegian Refugee Council recently announced the suspension of its humanitarian activities in 20 countries, including Afghanistan.