The Taliban used gunfire, beatings and arrests to disperse scores of protesters who marched through Kabul on Sept. 7—the largest demonstration the Afghan capital has seen since the militant group seized power last month. Videos shared on social media showed activists shouting in… Read moreTaliban repress anti-Pakistan protest in Kabul
Women marched in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif Sept. 6, demanding that their rights be protected and their voices heard in the new government now being formed. Signs read “We want political participation at all levels.” They also declared that they… Read moreAfghanistan: women protest Taliban rule
With absurd hubris, Biden in his speech on Aug. 31—the day the last US troops left Kabul under the deadline agreed to with the Taliban—declared that “the United States ended 20 years of war in Afghanistan.” It’s perverse enough that he called… Read moreAfghanistan: no, the war is not over
The Taliban killed an Afghan folk musician Aug. 29, days after stating that they would ban music from being played in public places. Fawad Andarabi was shot dead by Taliban fighters who arrived at his farm in the village of Kishnabad,… Read moreAfghan folksinger executed by Taliban
As the Taliban, now in full control of Kabul, pledge an “inclusive” Afghan government in prepared press statements, deadly repression against anti-Taliban protesters is reported from the eastern city of Jalalabad. On Aug. 18, the day before Afghanistan’s independence day, protesters… Read moreAfghanistan: Taliban unleash first terror
As the US withdraws and the Taliban advance across large stretches of Afghanistan, women are taking up weapons in local militias to defend their villages. In Ghor province, ethnic Hazara women posed for social-media photos wielding rifles and rocket-launchers, pledging to… Read moreAfghan women take up arms against Taliban
On June 27, Turkish riot police used tear-gas and rubber bullets to disrupt Istanbul’s annual pride parade after the the governor’s office refused to grant a permit for the event. The police arrested dozens of marchers, as well as journalists… Read moreTurkish police disperse Istanbul pride parade
Libya’s Government of National Accord officially handed power over to a new interim government in Tripoli on March 16, the day after Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh’s cabinet was sworn in by the House of Representatives in the eastern city of… Read moreNew Libyan government: progress for women
Turkey withdrew from the Council of Europe’s convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, popularly known as the Istanbul Convention, by a presidential decree announced in the official gazette March 20. The Istanbul Convention seeks to… Read moreTurkey drops treaty on violence against women
With a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan approaching but a final peace deal stalled, the White House is said to be considering an extension beyond this date for removal of its 2,500 troops remaining in the… Read moreAfghanistan: US withdrawal on hold?
Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was released Feb. 10 after spending a total of 1,001 days—almost three years—in prison. Al-Hathloul had been championing women’s rights since 2013. She lobbied especially for the right to drive, as well as for… Read moreSaudi women’s rights activist freed after three years
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued notices to Google and Wikipedia censuring them for “disseminating sacrilegious content” through their platforms. The notices, issued Dec, 24, accused these sites of hosting “misleading” content referencing the present khalifa (spiritual head) of… Read morePakistan: crackdown on internet ‘blasphemy’
