Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Context and Culture

This thematic area encompasses the wide array of subjects that illustrate Afghanistan’s rich history, arts, literature and culture, and the many ways Afghan society is changing and evolving.

Eid al-Fitr Mubarak from AAN to All Our Readers

AAN Team •

In the Islamic tradition, Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and is celebrated during the first three days of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. For the entire month leading up to the sighting of the new moon and the end of Ramadan, Muslims have been fasting […]

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Back to the Village: Afghan city dwellers go home for a long-over-due visit

Sabawoon Samim •

After the Taleban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the lives of millions of Afghans changed overnight. While these events have had a negative impact on the lives of many, some have seen positive changes. The end of the conflict meant that many urban dwellers who had been born in rural areas and had […]

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Nawruz

Simple Pleasures Amidst Great Frustrations: An essentially outlawed Nawruz in Taleban-ruled Afghanistan

S Reza Kazemi • Sayed Asadullah Sadat •

The second Nawruz, the first day of the spring and the new solar hejri year, after the Taleban’s return to power comes in an overwhelmingly frustrating atmosphere and appears even more lacklustre than the previous one. The Taleban have effectively banned it as a holiday and public celebration. A host of other crippling challenges such as severe […]

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New Lives in the City: How Taleban have experienced life in Kabul

Sabawoon Samim •

A large number of Taleban fighters have moved to Afghanistan’s cities since the movement’s capture of power, many of them seeing life in the city for the first time in their lifetime. These fighters, many of whom are from villages, had lived modest lives, entirely focused on the war. Their circumstances have changed entirely since […]

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An Afghan girl carries a thermos and packed lunch out to family members working in a field in Bati Kot district in Nangrahar province. Photo: Shafiullah KAKAR/AFP

What We Were Writing, What You Were Reading in 2022: Reports about economic struggle and loss of rights

Kate Clark •

2022 was the year in which the new reality of Islamic Emirate rule bedded down, following the precipitous collapse of the Islamic Republic in 2021. In that year, our reports and, even more so, the attention of our readers was dominated by trying to make sense of the war, the change of regime and failure […]

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The Art of the Tracker: How to find a thief in Afghanistan

Ali Mohammad Sabawoon •

The art of tracking footprints to find thieves, and even murderers, is well-known in Afghanistan, and particularly in southern Afghanistan and in the areas where Pashtun and Baluch tribes live on the Afghan and Pakistani sides of the Durand Line, the de facto international border, it can be a paid profession. Although trackers are in […]

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The Daily Hustle: Going to the bank

Roxanna Shapour • Rama Mirzada •

In the wake of the Taleban takeover in August 2021, the Afghan banking system, which up to then had been linked to the global banking network, collapsed. Reportedly very little money had been left in the treasury, and then overnight, the United States stopped flying in dollars, the central bank’s reserves held in the US […]

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Francesc Vendrell visiting Faizabad on 23 May 2001. Photo: Robert Nickelsberg/GettyImages

Obituary for Francesc Vendrell (1940-2022): An outspoken diplomat who cared about people, principles and peace

Thomas Ruttig •

The Afghanistan Analysts Network mourns for the chair of our Advisory Board, Ambassador Francesc Vendrell, who died on the morning of 27 November 2022 in London of severe illness, aged 82. Francesc was a passionate diplomat, a seeker of peace and defender of human rights, not just with lip service but with a drive and […]

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The Daily Hustle: One young woman’s journey to an English course in Kabul

Rama Mirzada •

For many Afghans the first year of Taleban rule was marked by uncertainty and anxiety over the country’s sudden change in fortunes. Virtually every area of daily life, from banking and shopping to travelling around the country to marriage celebrations has been affected. We wanted to find out from a variety of people how an […]

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AAN wishes prosperity and stability for Afghanistan at Eid al-Adha

AAN •

This year, Eid al-Adha[1] has once again coincided with very difficult times in Afghanistan. Many Afghans are facing economic hardship, poverty, and unemployment as the country’s economy struggles to regain lost ground. Afghanistan remains in the grip of a devastating drought for the third year running. Many families are mourning the loss of loved ones […]

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Eid Mubarak from AAN to All Our Readers

AAN Team •

The AAN team would like to wish a happy and peaceful Eid ul-Fitr to friends and readers, to all Muslims around the world and particularly the people of Afghanistan. We wish this, even knowing that the recent bloody attacks in Kabul, Kunduz, Mazar-e Sharif, Khost and elsewhere means this Eid is falling at a time of grief […]

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Marking a New Century in Afghanistan: Nawruz 1401

Roxanna Shapour •

The start of the Afghan new year on 21 March 2022, or by solar Hijra calendar 1 Hamal 1401, arrives in Afghanistan with a sense of foreboding and uncertainty for the future, after a mere seven months and five days since the Taleban took power and toppled the Republic. AAN’s Roxanna Shapour reflects on the […]

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