Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Afghanistan

Afghanistan

The Conversation: From the morality police to suspected UK war crimes

Kate Clark • Rachel Reid • Roxanna Shapour •

AAN authors discuss three in depth reports: Kate Clark on what has changed in the year since the introduction of the ‘Vice and Virtue’ law in Afghanistan, Roxanna Shapour discusses a survey on men’s views about the restrictions on women and finally, Rachel Reid gives a glimpse into her forthcoming report on alleged war crimes […]

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Are blood feuds on the way out? A special report from Khost province  

Rachel Reid • Sharif Akram •

Blood feuds have long been a feature of Afghan society, claiming countless lives and perpetuating conflict that sometimes spans generations. In recent decades, however, this has shifted, particularly as a young Afghans have begun to question tribal traditions. Original research by AAN’s Sharif Akram in Khost province suggests that this shift in social norms springs […]

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The Conversation:  Authors discuss a selection of AAN’s best reports

Kate Clark • Rachel Reid • Roxanna Shapour •

Every month AANCast dives into some of our longer reports, to give you a flavour of our more in-depth reporting, in discussion with a range of authors. This month, we’re looking at the International Criminal Court issuing of arrest warrants for two of the leaders of Islamic Emirate for the international crime of gender persecution, […]

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The Daily Hustle: How to get a national ID card in Afghanistan if you’re a Kuchi

Roxanna Shapour •

The Daily Hustle is our series of first-person accounts by one Afghan about one aspect of their daily life. On our website, you can find stories such as the girl who was so appalled by madrasa education, she persuaded her family to set one up for girls, the labourer and his wife taking in a […]

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Losing His Immunity: Former Afghan MP Haji Zaher extradited to US on drug charges

Rachel Reid •

In this episode we look at the dramatic fall of Haji Abdul Zaher Qadir, once a powerful Afghan commander and politician, now facing drug trafficking charges in the United States, after being arrested at a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, in April 2025. Haji Zaher, as he’s best known, was a prominent police commander and parliamentarian […]

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The Daily Hustle: Afghans flee the Iran-Israel war

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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Dreams Deferred (Again): The last remaining Afghan in Guantanamo loses his latest bid for freedom

Kate Clark •

The last Afghan still held in Guantanamo, Muhammad Rahim from Nangrahar province, has failed in his latest attempt to persuade the United States authorities to release him. The US continues to assert that he was a translator, courier and facilitator for al-Qaeda leaders and even though it is more than two years since US forces […]

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women education protest

Strangers in Our Own Country: How Afghan women cope with life under the Islamic Emirate

Roxanna Shapour • Rama Mirzada •

Sixteen months since its takeover of Afghanistan, the Emirate has imposed sweeping new restrictions on women’s lives, kicking female students out of universities and education centres, and banning women from working for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The bans have come on top of the continuing closure of girls’ high schools, the banning of female civil servants from offices, […]

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Konfliktporträt Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 29 September 2020 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig has been writing a ‘conflict portrait’ of Afghanistan for the website of the German Federal Centre for Political Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, bpb) for several years now. the bpb is a major source for teachers and school students. Here is the latest version, update […]

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Topdara-stupan berättar om det buddistiska arvet

Jelena Bjelica •

SCA/SAK, 6 April 2020 Jelena Bjelica’s AAN report, The Largest Standing Stupa in Afghanistan: A short history of the Buddhist site at Topdara, has been translated (and shortened) into a version in Swedish.

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AAN contributes to book on “Education and Development in Afghanistan”

Thomas Ruttig •

After years of military interventions, the current situation in Afghanistan is highly ambivalent and partially contradictory – especially regarding the interplay of development, peace, security, education, and economy. Despite numerous initiatives, Afghanistan is still confronted with a poor security and economic condition. This volume investigates the tension between these ambivalent developments. Sociologists, political and cultural […]

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The Afghan Territorial Force: Learning from the lessons of the past?

Kate Clark •

A new local defence force is being mobilised in Afghanistan. The establishment of the Afghan National Army Territorial Force was announced by President Ashraf Ghani in April 2018. Careful consideration has gone into its design, with safeguards built in to try to avoid the pitfalls associated with previous locally-recruited forces, such as the Afghan Local […]

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