Afghanistan

World News

5 people were killed in an explosion near the foreign ministry in Kabul

5:14pm January 11, 2023

by The Associated Press

An explosion near the Afghan foreign ministry killed five people and wounded several others, a Taliban police spokesman said. It was the second prominent attack in the capital so far in 2023.

A boy works in a coal mine north of Kabul. Afghanistan's state-run coal industry is going strong in an otherwise shattered economy. Many underage workers are the ones who are extracting the coal.

In Afghanistan, coal mining relies on the labor of children

5:02am December 31, 2022

Since the return of the Taliban, Afghanistan's coal exports have increased — and so has child labor. At a coal mine in Baghlan province, boys earn between $3 and $8 for a day's work.

Queue Listen Now

Afghan women protest a new Taliban ban to keep women from studying in university. This demonstration took place on Dec. 22 in Kabul. Now there is added concern about the future of education for girls of all ages, with reports that the Taliban has sent home women who teach in primary schools.

Taliban expels female teachers from some schools. So who will teach the girls?

4:05pm December 22, 2022

by Diaa Hadid

Early this week, the leaders of Afghanistan declared that women could not attend university. Now there are fears the any education for girls is in jeopardy as some female teachers are sent home.

Girls study at a secret school on the outskirts of Kabul in July of 2022.

Taliban begins to enforce education ban, leaving Afghan women with tears and anger

1:21pm December 21, 2022

by Diaa Hadid

Teachers report security forces barging into classrooms and shouting at girls to go home, while the international community swiftly condems the Taliban's move.

'The Taliban took our last hope': College education is banned for women in Afghanistan

6:14pm December 20, 2022

by Diaa Hadid

On Tuesday, the Taliban announced the women could no longer attend university. One educator in Afghanistan called it "gender apartheid." The highest grade girls will be able to attain now is grade 6.

Afghan students queue at one of Kabul University's gates in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 26. Women are banned from private and public universities in Afghanistan until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said Tuesday.

Taliban ban Afghan women from attending universities

3:09pm December 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

Women are banned from private and public universities until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms.

World News

Taliban carry out the first public execution since taking over Afghanistan

3:21pm December 07, 2022

by The Associated Press

The announcement underscored the intentions by Afghanistan's new rulers to continue hardline policies implemented since they took over the country and to stick to their interpretation of Islamic law.

Mohammad Hashim stands under a tree at the apple orchard where he works.

For Afghans who fought against the Taliban, life is fraught under their rule

5:03am November 28, 2022

Those who put their lives on the line in the Afghan National Army and can't find a way out of Afghanistan are working menial jobs, sometimes moving locations every few days in fear for their safety.

Construction worker Shahzaman Mohammadi, 32, stands in line for food assistance.

World News

Afghans are bracing for a winter many fear will be even worse than the last

5:03am November 25, 2022

At World Food Programme distribution sites, "Everybody tells us, 'Last winter was difficult, but we have no idea how we will get through the coming winter,'" says a WFP spokesperson in Kabul.

At the demonstration in Rome, Hamid Sultani staged a performance of his "Escape" project. He says the red cloth represents the conservative Afghan society that he and his generation desire to escape from.

Health & Safety

'I was their teacher': A chance encounter as Afghans protest after a suicide bombing

9:39pm November 01, 2022

by Pierre Kattar

Pierre Kattar edited the pictures for an NPR story about two of the teenagers killed in the Sept. 30 attack. On Oct. 10, he went to a demonstration in Rome and made an unexpected connection.