Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

The Daily Hustle

The Daily Hustle has become a regular feature on the AAN website since it was launched in October 2022. These reports are short, first-person accounts that give a unique and very personal perspective on a particular aspect of life in Afghanistan today.

When You Can’t Afford to Be Sick: From hakims and shrines to the operating table

Roxanna Shapour •

What happens when the medical treatment you need costs more money than you have? For many Afghans, illness comes with an impossible calculation. Paying for healthcare places a heavy burden on households, with patients and their families usually forced to cover costs out of their own pockets. For those faced with medical bills they cannot […]

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After the Schools Closed: For some Afghan girls, learning happens on the airwaves

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

One of the first things the Taliban did after returning to power in August 2021 was to ban girls from going to school beyond grade six. Nearly five years later, the ban remains in place. For many, the classroom they had sat in only days before was suddenly out of reach. In this instalment of The […]

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What Affordable Means in Today’s Afghanistan: Choosing what to give up and what to hold on to

Jawed Neshat • Roxanna Shapour •

What happens when a family that once enjoyed a comfortable life can no longer afford the things it once took for granted? This is the situation for many Afghan households still struggling in the wake of the economic collapse of 2021 and 2022 when many lost their jobs and yet prices continue to rise and […]

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A Marriage I Didn’t Choose: An Afghan girl’s journey into despair and back 

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

After the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan returned to power in August 2021, women and girls were barred from continuing their education beyond grade six. Women were also banned from working in most government jobs and NGOs, leaving many without employment or a way to support themselves. The opportunities that had seemed within reach during the […]

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Forty-Five Days to Spain: One man’s journey from Afghanistan in search of a future

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

War has shaped the lives of several generations of Afghans, with many pushed to travel beyond the country’s borders, seeking sanctuary or opportunity in more peaceful places. That includes the hundreds of thousands who have embarked on the dangerous journey to Europe. In this instalment of The Daily Hustle, AAN’s Rohullah Sorush hears from one man who […]

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When a Girl Turns Up at the Door: How an Afghan custom helped one young woman refuse a forced marriage

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

For women – and often not for men either – marriage is rarely a personal choice. It is usually decided by families, most often by fathers. In Panjshir province, some young women try to escape unwanted marriages by taking refuge in the home of a man they do wish to marry – a practice known as shingari. A […]

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Claimed by Gunfire: How a single shot stole an Afghan girl’s future

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

In parts of southeastern Afghanistan, a boy seeking to force a girl into marriage may fire gunshots outside her home to claim her publicly as his future wife, often after the girl’s family has refused his proposal. The shots are a signal that the girl now belongs to him – regardless of her wishes or […]

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One Serve at a Time: A volleyball player’s journey from Kabul to Toronto 

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

In Afghanistan, women face challenges in nearly every aspect of their lives. At times, those obstacles seem insurmountable, especially for women who engage in activities outside the home in fields still considered to be the exclusive domain of men. The idea of women in sports, for example, is particularly taboo. This is true not only […]

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Muhammad’s Last Journey: A story of survival, debt and loss

Nur Khan Himmat • Roxanna Shapour •

The Islamic Emirate’s ban on poppy cultivation has reshaped life in many areas across Afghanistan, especially in Helmand province, where poppy was fundamental to the economy and to many farmers’ livelihoods. This is the story of one such farmer, Muhammad, who, having lost his main source of income following the poppy ban and finding that […]

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The Daily Hustle: How one mother cares for her family through sickness, hunger and debt

Rama Mirzada • Roxanna Shapour •

In Afghanistan, years of conflict, economic collapse, and rising poverty have left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to survive. For those already on the brink, a single illness can be life-altering, pushing the household into crisis and making even the most basic necessities, such as bread, cooking oil, or school uniforms, unaffordable. In this […]

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The Daily Hustle: Building a business in Kabul one stitch at a time

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

In Kabul’s Timur Shahi area, tailoring is serious business. Rows of shopfronts compete for customers. One marvels at how so many tailors, offering basically the same service, stay in business in such close proximity. But they do. Each tailor has his own loyal customers who have been with him for years, even generations. In this instalment […]

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The Daily Hustle: Afghans flee the Iran-Israel war

Nur Khan Himmat • Roxanna Shapour •

As the conflict between Israel and Iran escalated, many Afghans who had been living in Iran opted to return to Afghanistan, fearing for their safety. The Iranian government’s current drive to deport Afghans had already accelerated the pace of ‘returns’. However, for Afghans who had lived through years of conflict in their own country, the […]

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