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women in afghanistan

Women providing services within a beauty salon

‘We are dead inside:’ Women in Afghanistan protest Taliban ban of beauty salons

Afghanistan

The ban will come into effect in five days, leaving roughly 60,000 women out of work.

A classroom that previously was used for girls sits empty in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 22, 2022.

He spoke out against banning girls’ education. The Taliban silenced him.

Afghanistan
A Taliban fighter stands guard as people wait to receive food rations distributed by a South Korean humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2022.

Afghan women say they are ‘dying in slow motion’ after killing of former female MP

Afghanistan
TV anchor Khatereh Ahmadi bows her head while wearing a face covering as she reads the news on TOLOnews, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 22, 2022. 

‘They may not know my face in the future’: Female news anchors anguished by Taliban order to cover head to toe

Afghanistan
An Afghan woman waits to receive a food ration distributed by a South Korea humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2022.

Afghan women say Taliban’s new rules aim to make them ‘disappear from public life’

Afghanistan
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A Taliban fighter walks on the side of a road as a Humvee carrying other fighters drives by in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 21, 2021.

‘We are still here’: Afghan UN employees worry about their safety

Afghanistan

Thousands of Afghans work for the UN in Afghanistan. Most remain there despite fears of being targeted by the Taliban for their work.

fghan women and a girl shop for dresses at a local market in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

Afghan women to the Taliban: #DoNotTouchMyClothes

Afghanistan

The Taliban has issued a decree calling for female university students to fully cover their bodies and most of their faces in a return to Afghan tradition. Historian Bahar Jalali fully disagrees. She started a now-viral campaign over the weekend to showcase the diversity of Afghan women’s traditional dress.

A close-up photograph shows a woman's hands with lots of golden-colored braclets on her right wrist and a watch on the left wrist.

Women’s shelters in Afghanistan face an uncertain future

Afghanistan

This summer, as the Taliban took over district after district in Afghanistan, women’s shelters were shuttered out of fear for the women’s safety. Those benefiting from the shelters are already vulnerable women who have no other place to go.

Women holding signs saying "save Afghan lives" and "Afghan Lives Matter" at a protest, with the White House in the background

20 years of progress for Afghan women could disappear under Taliban rule

Afghanistan

The Taliban has given every indication women and girls will once more face violence and repression as it takes back control of Afghanistan.

Woman in blue outfit holding up her arms

Women in Afghanistan push for rights and more representation amid ongoing talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban

Women & Gender

Afghan women and other minorities fear losing impact in negotiations as US troops begin to pull out of the country.

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