Afghanistan

Male anchors in Afghanistan are wearing masks on air in solidarity with their female colleagues. This is the latest Taliban order to threaten the freedoms and careers of Afghan women.

The order came from the Taliban's Virtue and Vice Ministry as well as from the Information and Culture Ministry. Earlier this month, the Taliban ordered women in public to wear head-to-toe clothing.

Women in Afghanistan continue to experience more restrictions under the Taliban, including the return of the burqa. NPR's Scott Simon notes how the world seems to be distracted from their plight.

The decree, which calls for women in Afghanistan to show only their eyes and recommends they wear the burqa, evoked similar restrictions during the Taliban's previous rule.

For 9 months, teen girls have been pretty much unable to go to school. Protests have been shut down. Now clerics — including some affiliated with the Taliban – are urging an end to the school ban.

After the Taliban takeover, family members — even spouses — were sometimes separated during U.S. evacuation efforts. Now a global network of volunteers are trying to bring out those left behind.

The rulers' decision — reneging on a previous promise — came at the start of the new school year in Afghanistan and risks further alienating the international community.

The family of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, killed during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan last year, are seeking legal action at the International Criminal Court

Schools in Afghanistan are expected to open for the new semester Wednesday. But despite Taliban assurances that girls will be allowed back, students and teachers are unclear about what will happen.

President Biden is urging Congress to send a burn-pits bill to his desk.

After six months of Taliban rule, many Afghans say they fear for their economic future of lack of personal freedoms.

In only a matter of days, the lives of an Afghan family changed forever. After the Taliban took control of Kabul, they were forced to start over in a foreign country.