In 2018, Samira Asghari became the first representative from Afghanistan to join the International Olympic Committee. She has a background in basketball and football and has captained Afghanistan’s ...

Hazaras and Shias, who make up a significant share of Afghanistan’s population, have faced systematic discrimination, forced displacement, and the seizure of their land and property under Taliban rule ...

A commemoration marking the first anniversary of the Kaaj Education Center attack in western Kabul, 2023. Photo: Social media On September 30, 2022, a suicide bomber attacked the Kaaj Educational ...

Hamida* remembers the rhythm of her old life in Mashhad: mornings spent studying marketing and afternoons running a jewellery and handicrafts workshop she had built herself. “I trained others and ...

August 2026 marked five years since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, and five years since I began my journey as an advocate for Afghan women. Over the years, I’ve spoken about my ...

I was a child when the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan. Yet some of what I witnessed on the streets of Kabul remains very clear to me. I saw women being beaten by Taliban members with cables. I saw ...

This narrative has been published in partnership with the Guardian. My name is Leima*. I am 24 years old. I was studying computer science at a private university in Nangarhar province. I was in my ...

This narrative has been published in partnership with the Guardian. My name is Fatema*. I am 32 years old and a mother of six children: four sons and two daughters. Every day, my sister Marzia and I ...

Rada Akbar is one of the most distinguished figures in contemporary art. The prominent Afghan visual artist, photographer, and cultural activist turns art into a tool for storytelling, awareness, and ...

This story, reported by Zan Times, is supported by IWPR’s Impact Reporting program, helping local journalists around the world make a difference. It has been published in partnership with ...

Sabza with the her daughter, who was promised to her future husband when she was three, to repay a debt of about £3,570. Photograph: Neda Noran and Atousa Azar for Zan Times This report has been ...