Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Rights and Freedoms

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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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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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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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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The Daily Hustle: A home school for girls is shut down 

Hamid Pakteen • Roxanna Shapour •

 Today’s Daily Hustle features a young woman who we last heard from in June 2023 when she was running a home school for girls in her village. Now, a year and half later, she has been ordered to close it. Even before the fall of the Islamic Republic, many Afghan girls had no access to education – whether […]

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The Daily Hustle: Going on a picnic with your family, if you’re a girl 

Rama Mirzada • Roxanna Shapour •

Going on a picnic and spending time with your family, enjoying Afghanistan’s natural beauty, is a favourite pastime for Afghan families, especially in springtime. However, since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has imposed many restrictions on women and older girls, public parks in the country have largely become no-go areas for them. AAN has […]

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The Daily Hustle: Why one Afghan girl decided to open her own madrasa

Ali Mohammad Sabawoon • Roxanna Shapour •

After the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan closed girls’ high schools, thousands of older Afghan girls were left behind from education. With not much to do except help with the household chores, many families decided to enrol their girls in a madrasa so that they could pursue their religious education. Many older girls, who had already […]

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The Daily Hustle: Mission impossible – the quest for passports and visas in Afghanistan

AAN Team • Roxanna Shapour •

Afghans who got onto evacuation lists may have the chance to go to Europe or North America, if they can get passports and visas for Pakistan. Their first dilemma is whether to go; it is not easy leaving one’s homeland. But there is a second dilemma – whether to spend savings or go into debt to get the […]

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The Daily Hustle: “Helping the dreams of girls come true”

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

After the Islamic Emirate banned older girls from education, many girls found alternative avenues to continue their studies, find intellectual stimulation – and even, as this Daily Hustle found out, make a living in the private education sector. AAN’s Rohullah Sorush hears from one young Afghan woman about how, even in the face of overwhelming […]

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The Daily Hustle: Running a home school for girls

Roxanna Shapour •

The Taleban made their move against education for older girls about a month after they took over Afghanistan when they ordered secondary schools for boys to re-open, but made no mention of girls. Since then, there have been a few instances of false hope, notably in March 2022 when the government reneged on its promise […]

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The Daily Hustle: How Afghan women working for NGOs are coping with the Taleban ban

Roxanna Shapour •

Afghan women who were studying at university or working for NGOs have now had a few weeks to take in the implications of two decrees issued by Taleban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada which denied them a university education and banned them from working for NGOs. The announcements had come as successive blows to women who had […]

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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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