International Conferences to Support Afghan Women to be Held

March 7, 2025 Current News Articles

TOLOnews

TV Network

7 March 2025

UNESCO has announced that today it will hold a conference in Paris to draw global attention to the situation of Afghan women and girls.

As March 8 (International Women’s Day) approaches, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Women’s Division are organizing two separate conferences on Afghan women.

UNESCO has announced that today it will hold a conference in Paris to draw global attention to the situation of Afghan women and girls.

The objective of this conference is to raise global awareness and advocate for the rights of Afghan women, particularly in a situation where, according to UNESCO, their freedoms and access to education have been restricted.

UNESCO stated in its announcement: “The UNESCO High Level Conference on Women and Girls in Afghanistan, taking place on Friday, 7 March 2025, will focus on highlighting the dramatic and ongoing challenges faced by women and girls in Afghanistan. The conference aims to raise global awareness and advocate for women’s rights in a context where their freedoms and access to education have been severely restricted.”

“Our primary request from the Islamic Emirate is to pay attention to this matter and bring positive news in the new academic year by reopening closed doors and reducing restrictions,” said Tafsir Siahpoosh, a women’s rights activist.

“The rights granted to women in Islam and within human society must be respected, and they should be given their rightful place. Without women and girls, human progress, development, and continuity are impossible,” said Aziz Maarej, a former diplomat.

Simultaneously, the UN Women’s Division has announced that it will hold a conference on March 13, 2025, with the participation of Afghan women.

The UN agency added that this meeting will include interactive discussions with Afghan women and a report on the laws of the Ministry of Vice and Virtue of the Islamic Emirate.

The UN Women’s Division stated: “By amplifying their voices, this dialogue aims to ensure that Afghan women are not just spoken about but are active participants in shaping the policies that impact their lives.”

“The United Nations has held numerous meetings on Afghanistan, especially regarding women, over the past three and a half years. However, in most of these meetings, only one or two hand-picked women participated instead of real representatives of Afghan women. These meetings have not brought any tangible change to the lives of women in Afghanistan,” said Lamia Shirzai, a women’s rights activist.

The Islamic Emirate has not yet commented on these meetings. However, it has consistently emphasized that women’s rights will be upheld within the framework of Islamic rulings.

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March 7, 2025 Current News Articles

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Tolo News

6 March 2025

Clashes, Shelling in Torkham Displace Around 800 Families

March 7, 2025 Current News Articles

Sadaqat Ghorzang

Tolo News

6 March 2025

Local residents told TOLOnews that Pakistan’s missile attacks have caused massive damage to their homes and shops.

Around 800 families in Torkham have been forced to leave their homes due to intermittent clashes and shelling attacks by Pakistani forces.

Local residents told TOLOnews that Pakistan’s missile attacks have caused massive damage to their homes and shops.

Abdul Haq, a resident of Torkham Township, said that four nights ago he was forced to leave his home due to attacks by Pakistani forces and seek shelter in a safer area.

Abdul Haq added: “Shells were coming from Pakistan, I didn’t know where they would land, but we fled and found shelter here. That night, it was also raining, and we ran away with our children and women.”

“We left under very difficult conditions while bullets were being fired. We took the children out, but we didn’t even have blankets or quilts with us,” said Roqil, another displaced person in Torkham.

Some of the displaced people claim that Pakistani forces do not have the capability to fight face-to-face with the forces of the Islamic Emirate, which is why they target civilians and workers.

“It is the month of Ramadan; whether we had dry or fresh food, we should have been able to eat it in our homes, but now we are displaced here,” Nasib Gul, a resident of Torkham, told TOLOnews.

Meanwhile, local officials have announced efforts to provide urgent assistance to the displaced people.

Baz Mohammad Abdul Rahman, head of the Nangarhar department of refugees and repatriation, told TOLOnews: “Around 800 families have been displaced from the areas near Torkham. Organizations under the supervision of the department of refugees and repatriation are conducting surveys, and assistance will be provided shortly.”

Mohammad Hashim Maiwandwal, head of the Omari camp in Torkham, said about the aid to the displaced: “Several organizations have arrived, and the survey process is ongoing to assist them.”

This comes as the Torkham crossing has been closed to all movement by Pakistan for the past 13 days, leaving hundreds of passengers, emergency patients, and thousands of cargo trucks stranded at the crossing.

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Hadia Ziaei

Tolo News

5 March 2025

“Arezo TV” in Kabul receives permission to operate and reopens after 86-day closure

March 6, 2025 Current News Articles

IFeX {Toronto, Canada)

Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC)

4 March 2025

The Afghanistan Journalists Center expresses deep concern about the increasing restrictions imposed on media operations across the country.

This statement was originally published on afjc.media on 1 March 2025.

Arezo TV’s office in Kabul has officially reopened today following an 86-day closure mandated by a raid conducted by the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) and the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) welcomes this development but strongly condemns the closure as a severe infringement on the rights of free media.

Basir Abed, head of Arezo TV, informed AFJC that the seal on the television station’s office was lifted around 11 a.m. today, allowing employees to return to work. He said that the Ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice approved the reopening “without imposing any special conditions.”

The closure followed a raid on December 4, 2024, during which GDI and Ministry personnel mistreated Arezo TV staff, confiscated electronic storage devices and computers, arrested seven employees, and sealed the office. A notice posted by the Ministry stated that the outlet had been closed “until further notice due to broadcasting immoral and vulgar series.” Later that day, in a press release, the Ministry accused Arezo TV of collaborating with exiled media outlets to dub and air content deemed contrary to Islamic and Afghan principles and traditions.

The detained employees were released from Pul-e-Charkhi Prison on December 18 after providing a written “guarantee” to remain in Kabul and attend their court session, where they were expected to hear the charges against them. Today, the head of Arezo TV stated that the court declared the employees innocent, affirming that there are no restrictions on their ability to continue working for the media outlet.

AFJC welcomes the reopening of Arezo TV and the court’s decision regarding the station’s employees, reiterating that the 86-day closure is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of free media. AFJC expresses deep concern about the increasing restrictions imposed on media operations across the country and urges the de facto authorities to uphold Afghanistan’s Media Law, which, as deemed applicable by the de facto Ministry of Information and Culture, asserts that media outlets are free to carry out their professional activities without undue restrictions or threats.

Exhibition giving Afghan women and girls a voice

March 5, 2025 Analytical articles

Zoie O’Brien – BBC News, Suffolk and Alice Cunningham – BBC News, Suffolk

Sat, March 1, 2025

Nageena, 17, said the day the Taliban took over, she witnessed people being killed and fled [Jamie Niblock/BBC]

Women from Afghanistan have shared their stories of living under Taliban rule for a new exhibition.

Window to the Soul Afghanistan launched on Friday, at Jerwood DanceHouse in Ipswich, and will be displayed for four weeks.

The project team spent the last year creating a secure platform for women still in Afghanistan, and those who had left, to share their stories of life before and after the Taliban

Nageena, 17, who fled Afghanistan and moved to England three years ago, worked on the project and said she missed her home.

A piece of artwork depicts an Afghan women wearing a full face veil. The area where her eyes would usually be on show has also been covered up. She stands in a doorway that has bars in front of it, trapping her inside. — The exhibition includes artwork made by people who still live in Afghanistan [Aziza]

The Taliban, a hardline Islamist group, took control of Afghanistan in 2021 and under its rule women and girls have been subject to strict and oppressive laws.

Nageena and her family fled Afghanistan the day the group took over, which she said was “a very bad day”.

She still has family there and said her female relatives, over the age of 12, were not allowed to attend school due to the Taliban’s ban.

She stressed the importance of education and said it was “not only about what boys and men can do”.

Now living in Suffolk, Nageena is studying a college hairdressing course, but she admitted she still thought about her home.

“I miss my country because it is my home, but I can’t go home,” she continued.

“When I think about my country I feel very broken in my heart and it’s very sad for us.”

She said the exhibition had made her feel brave and that she was capable of anything.

Hannah Aria smiles at the camera. She hair red hair that has been tied up. She also has a microphone piece resting against her cheek. — *Hannah Aria said the exhibition was about “using art for social justice and human rights advocacy” [Jamie Niblock/BBC]*

Hannah Aria is a local artist who helped set up the exhibition.

“I started off working with refugees in Ipswich,” she explained.

“As you gain more connections with people, you connect with the stories and then you want to do something positive to help.”

She was introduced to a contact in Afghanistan and through them, met others who shared their stories.

The exhibition makes use of virtual and augmented reality to tell the stories of “people from Afghanistan in an amazing game-like format”, Ms Aria said.

She added the exhibition aimed to apply for more funding to expand it further and tell more stories in the future.

“We want to change the world,” she said.

Rona smiles at the camera. She has red hair that has been tied back behind her head. She wears a black jumper with a white top underneath with a collar. — *Rona Panjsheri said it was important to share Afghan women and girls’ stories who did not have a voice in their own country [Jamie Niblock/BBC]*

Rona Panjsheri, from Afghanistan, also worked on the project and said talking about women in Afghanistan made her emotional.

“It’s really sad to talk about them, all negative things, [but] there are some positive things that I am really proud of them [for],” she explained.

“They stand up and they still have a little hope three years after Afghanistan fell at the hands of the Taliban. “We hope that one day they get free and we talk more positive things about Afghan women and girls.” She added that women and girls in Afghanistan “have no freedom of speech”, therefore it was important to “keep telling their stories”.

Residents flee border area as Afghan and Pakistani forces clash over crossing closure

March 5, 2025 Current News Articles

By RIAZ KHAN

Associated Press

March 4, 2025

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Residents fled a border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan after forces from both sides clashed into the early hours of Tuesday, a Pakistani official said.

It was the second consecutive day of tit-for-tat gunfire at Torkham, a key crossing between the two countries that has been closed since Feb. 21 because of a dispute between the two neighbors.

The Pakistani official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the media, said that gunfire overnight Monday spread fear and panic among residents.

They fled to safer locations as security forces on both sides shot at each other with light and heavy weapons.

“The situation remains tense and security is on high alert,” the official said. Three Pakistani security personnel were wounded in the latest clash. There were no civilian casualties.

One person waiting to cross into Pakistan was Sana Gul. He said drivers, patients, passengers and traders were all in trouble because of the prolonged closure and that Torkham should not be shut over “minor incidents.”

In Kabul, Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said Tuesday that authorities would continue their efforts to resolve the issue through talks.

Both countries have in the past closed Torkham and the southwestern Chaman border crossing, most often over deadly shootings and crossfire. The crossings are vital for trade and travel between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.

Shaking the Sky: Women’s attempts to claim their inheritance rights under the Emirate

March 5, 2025 Analytical articles

Letty Phillips • Rama Mirzada

Afghanistan Analysts Network

2 March 2025 print sharing button

Few aspects of Islamic Emirate rule in Afghanistan have received as much criticism as the sweeping restrictions on the lives of women and girls. Yet in response to this condemnation, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) claims that it has actually improved women’s lives by enforcing women’s rights guaranteed by sharia. These include a woman’s right to inheritance, which is clearly specified in the Quran but rarely upheld in Afghanistan. Letty Phillips and Rama Mirzada, with input from the AAN team, have spoken to Afghan women and family members to explore whether the IEA’s efforts are encouraging women to claim their rights to inheritance in the face of long-held customs and widespread perceptions that even asking for this right is shameful.

You can preview the report online and download it by clicking here or the download button below.

Since the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in August 2021, officials have consistently rejected all criticism of its policies on women and girls. “Significant steps have been taken in securing Afghan women’s rights,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Propagating Virtue and Preventing Vice and Hearing Complaints – commonly referred to as Amr bil-Maruf – in its 2023 public accountability session. The basis of this claim was Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s December 2021 Decree 83/1, which gives women the following six rights: an adult woman cannot be forced into marriage; a woman cannot be given in marriage to resolve a blood feud; prevented from receiving her inheritance; or treated unfairly compared to her husband’s other wives; a widow cannot be forced to marry her husband’s brother or anyone else and if she marries again, any new husband must give her a mahr.

The IEA appears especially concerned with Decree 83/1’s fifth provision, on a woman’s right to receive inheritance under sharia. “If brothers do not give inheritance to their sisters, the sisters have the right and have been authorised by the Islamic Emirate to complain and write petitions and get their rights. No one has the audacity and authority to deny the inheritance rights of our sisters,” said the Amr bil-Maruf spokesman in that August 2023 session.

Yet any women wanting to take up this right must contend with a culture that considers it shameful for a woman to ask for her share of her father or husband’s or other relative’s wealth – as set out in the Quran – when they die. “A woman claiming her rights to inheritance is not usual,” said Enan, an Afghan woman employed by an NGO working on legal issues, “and when a woman does this, it’s like she’s shaking the sky.”

The authors had heard reports that more women are raising claims to their inheritance rights under the Islamic Emirate than during the Islamic Republic, so set out to find out whether the Emirate is enforcing Decree 83/1 and supporting women’s requests to inherit. In November and December 2024, the authors spoke to ten women as well as some other family members, involved in inheritance disputes. Our report begins with a survey of women’s inheritance rights in Afghanistan throughout the twentieth century, before hearing as to whether things have actually changed.

Edited by Kate Clark and Roxanna Shapour

You can preview the report online and download it by clicking here or the download button below.

2025 Women Inheritance FINAL Download

Trump Says Pakistan Captured Man Tied to Kabul Airport Attack

March 5, 2025 Current News Articles

By Julian E. Barnes and Zia ur-Rehman

Julian E. Barnes reported from Washington. Zia ur-Rehman reported from Karachi, Pakistan

The New York Times

March 5, 2025

U.S. officials provided intelligence to Pakistan that led to the detention of Mohmmad Sharifullah, a leader of an Islamic State affiliate. The attack in 2021 killed 13 American soldiers and dozens of Afghans.

President Trump announced the capture of a top leader of the Islamic State in Afghanistan and Pakistan who helped plan the 2021 attack on the Kabul airport that killed 13 American service members and dozens of other people.

“We have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice,” Mr. Trump said during his address to Congress on Tuesday.

Current and former officials said the United States had provided intelligence to Pakistan that led to its capture of the leader, Mohmmad Sharifullah, who helped plot the attack on the Abbey Gate entrance to the Kabul airport.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif of Pakistan said that Mr. Sharifullah, an Afghan national, had been arrested by Pakistani security forces in the border region with Afghanistan. Axios first reported details of Mr. Sharifullah’s arrest.

The Abbey Gate attack became a symbol of the chaos of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in the opening months of the Biden administration. The military had been warned about the possibility of terror attacks at the airport, where thousands of Afghans were converging, hoping to flee as the Taliban took hold of the country.

Although he did not name Mr. Biden during his remarks on the attack, Mr. Trump lamented the withdrawal from Afghanistan as “disastrous and incompetent.” He called the Abbey Gate attack “perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.”

Since taking office, Mr. Trump’s C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, has spoken with Pakistan’s intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Asim Malik, about Mr. Sharifullah, current and former officials said. Mr. Sharifullah is a leader of the group known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K.

Cliff Sims, an informal adviser to Mr. Ratcliffe, wrote in a social media post that one of Mr. Trump’s first orders to the agency was to prioritize the hunt for those responsible for the Abbey Gate attack.

“On his second day in office, Ratcliffe raised the issue during his first call with the Pakistani spy chief and reiterated it during their meeting at the Munich security conference,” Mr. Sims wrote. “This cooperation led to a huge counterterrorism win for the United States and progress toward justice for the families of the American heroes we lost that day.”

In another social media post, Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, said Mr. Sharifullah had been extradited to the United States. “One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families,” Mr. Patel wrote.

A U.S. official said that the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. were notified 10 days ago that Pakistan had captured Mr. Sharifullah and that he was expected to arrive in the United States on Wednesday, developments reported earlier by Axios.

Kabul bombing suspect arrested: What it means for US-Pakistan relations

March 5, 2025 Analytical articles

By Abid Hussain

Al Jazeera

Islamabad, Pakistan – United States President Donald Trump revealed during his address to Congress on Tuesday night that an Afghan national, allegedly involved in planning the deadly August 2021 bombing at Kabul airport, had been arrested with Pakistan’s assistance.

The attack took place while US forces were helping the evacuation from the city following the Taliban’s Kabul takeover.

In his first address to Congress after taking office for his second term, Trump referred to the Kabul airport blast, calling it “the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country”.

“Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice. And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster,” the US president declared on Monday night.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement, thanked Trump for “appreciating Pakistan’s role and support in counterterrorism efforts across the region”.

He confirmed that Mohammad Sharifullah, a commander of the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP), was an Afghan national captured in an operation conducted in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

“As is well-known, Pakistan has always played a critical role in counter terrorism efforts aimed at denying safe havens to terrorists and militant groups the space to operate against any other country,” Sharif wrote in a message on X, the social media platform, on Wednesday, using a different spelling for the alleged bombing mastermind’s name.

What was the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport?

As the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, 2021, US authorities set an August 31 deadline to evacuate all American troops stationed in Afghanistan for the past 20 years.

However, on August 26, as thousands of Afghans sought an escape from Kabul, a suicide bombing at the airport’s entry point, known as Abbey Gate, killed nearly 200 people, including 13 American soldiers.

A subsequent US investigation revealed that the bomber, identified as Abdul Rahman al-Logari, had been an ISKP member since 2016. He was one of thousands of ISKP members freed by the Taliban after they seized control of the country in August 2021.

Three days after the Abbey Gate attack, US forces launched a drone strike in central Kabul, allegedly targeting an ISKP commander.

However, the missile killed at least 10 civilians, including seven children. Initially, the US claimed to have successfully eliminated its target, but later admitted it was a mistake and issued an apology.

Who Is Sharifullah, and how was he arrested?

While Prime Minister Sharif disclosed that the apprehended individual was an Afghan national, he provided no details on how the operation was conducted.

A government source told Al Jazeera that the operation demonstrated “strong cooperation” between the US and Pakistani security establishments in counterterrorism efforts.

The source further revealed that Pakistani security forces began tracking Sharifullah after receiving intelligence from the US “a few days back”.

“He was arrested in late February near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in an operation solely conducted by Pakistani security agencies. Afterwards, the individual was extradited to the US for due process of law,” the government source stated.

“Sharifullah’s arrest also proves that Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan being a hotbed of terrorism is absolutely correct,” the source added, speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

Pakistan has long criticised the Taliban government for failing to curb the presence of armed groups on Afghan soil, which launch attacks inside Pakistani territory. The Afghan government has consistently denied these accusations.

According to US news outlet CNN, CIA Director John Ratcliffe raised the issue during his first phone call with Pakistan’s intelligence chief, General Asim Malik, soon after assuming office.

Sharifullah, also known by the alias Jafar, arrived in the US early on Wednesday morning. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed his arrival. “Terrorist Jafar is officially in US custody,” he said.

What was the Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul airport?

Who Is Sharifullah, and how was he arrested?

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