Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Sharif Akram

The Erosion of One Man’s Rule: How household authority is shifting in rural Pashtun society

Sharif Akram •

For generations, authority within the Afghan family rested with its eldest man, the grandfather or, in his absence, the father or oldest brother. They decided everything from marriage and money to migration and disputes and the rest of the household was bound to obey. That arrangement is loosening. AAN’s Sharif Akram has been looking at […]

Context and Culture Read more

Preaching Without a Party: Independent religious figures find space under the Islamic Emirate

Sharif Akram •

Since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the space for organised religious activism in Afghanistan has narrowed sharply. Islamic parties have been suppressed or gone quiet. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), itself an Islamist movement, has worked steadily to bring religious discourse under state control. And yet, an unusual category of religious […]

Political Landscape Read more

The Decline of Ashar: How collective labour is fading in rural Afghanistan

Sharif Akram •

For generations, the tradition of ashar – voluntary, unpaid communal labour – was one of the strongest expressions of solidarity in rural Afghan society. Whether harvesting a neighbour’s wheat, building a home or cleaning an irrigation canal, ashar bound together families, villages and tribes through reciprocal obligation. This tradition has sharply declined across much of southeastern Afghanistan […]

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Bridging the Divide? Radio learning and girls’ education in rural Afghanistan

Sharif Akram •

When classrooms fell silent for older Afghan girls in 2021, millions were cut off from formal schooling, deepening long-standing inequalities between girls and boys. Yet learning did not stop – it adapted. Across the country, alternative avenues have emerged to try to help fill the gap. Among them, radio-based education has taken on particular significance, […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

The Turbaned Traders: The Taliban take over the urban economy

Sharif Akram •

After the Taliban seized power in 2021, many of the movement’s fighters and supporters migrated from their rural strongholds into Afghanistan’s urban centres to assume control of the government and the cities. This marked a major shift following two decades of insurgency, when the Taliban and many of their supporters were unable to access urban […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Breaking the Cycle of Centuries-old Violence: A decline in blood feuds in Khost province?

Sharif Akram •

Blood feuds or revenge killings are closely connected to honour and shame, as seen through tribal customs and centuries-old traditions in Afghan society. For many decades, these feuds perpetuated cycles of violence, claimed countless lives and undermined the formal justice system. However, in recent decades, they seem to be in decline, as Afghan society experiences shifts […]

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Living a Mullah’s Life (2): The evolution of Islamic knowledge among village clerics

Sharif Akram •

Over the past four decades much has been written about Afghan mullahs and madrasas. Most commentary has focused on the role they have played in disseminating militancy and jihadism in Afghanistan. This report takes a very different look. It is the second instalment of a two-part mini-series assessing the changing role of rural mullahs, focusing […]

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Living a Mullah’s Life (1): The changing role and socio-economic status of Afghanistan’s village clerics

Sharif Akram •

In Afghanistan, where Islam has been the predominant religion for many centuries, local religious leaders, known as mullahs, are an influential group with significant say in almost every issue. While their influence is profound, their personal economic status and lifestyle have often been modest. In this first of two reports, AAN’s Sharif Akram looks at […]

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Taliban Narratives (2) TV documentaries: The Emirate disseminates its history to the masses

Sharif Akram •

The Islamic Emirate is seeking to document its history and shape a narrative that explains and justifies its rise back to power to the Afghan people. In this mini-series on Taliban narratives, part one looked at the Emirate’s written efforts – focusing on newly-published books that explore themes of history, ideology and identity. This second […]

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A man prays at a bookstore in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP, 4 March 2025

Taliban Narratives (1) Books: “Who we are and why we fought”

Sharif Akram •

Until recently, the Taliban was a movement that wrote little about itself, in contrast to others – especially foreigners, but also Afghans – who have written so much about them. This was rooted partly in their reticence to discuss their movement and partly in a need to focus on fighting, when social media was their […]

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