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.

Waiting to Be Picked: The daily struggle to find work in Kabul

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

Every morning, hundreds of men gather on street corners across Kabul, hoping to find a day’s work. For these day labourers, each morning brings a new gamble: will they earn enough to feed their families or go home empty-handed? Even those who manage to find work struggle to make ends meet, with their meagre earnings […]

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Nine Months Under the Emirate: One woman’s pregnancy in Kabul

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

Pregnancy is often described as a time of joy, anticipation and preparation, but for many women in Afghanistan, getting through those nine months can feel like an obstacle course. In this instalment of the Daily Hustle, AAN’s Hamid Pakteen speaks to Zarghuna, a 38-year-old mother in Kabul, about her latest pregnancy. With her husband stranded […]

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Borrowing from the Future: How an Afghan trader sank deeper into debt

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

For many small traders, buying goods on credit is part of doing business. It allows them to trade even if they do not have the money to pay for stock up front. However, that also leaves them vulnerable when deals go wrong, creditors demand repayment or the economy takes a downturn. Borrowing more money to […]

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The Virtual Girl: One woman’s digital life under the Emirate

Roxanna Shapour •

As opportunities have narrowed for women and girls outside the home – under the Islamic Emirate’s many restrictions – many have turned to the internet to try to replace what they have lost. In this instalment of The Daily Hustle, Roxanna Shapour hears from Sayeda, a young Afghan woman in Kabul who not only studies […]

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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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