Photo: Mariam Ailmi

Journalism by and for Afghanistan women

Zan Times is a women-led investigative newsroom reporting from inside Afghanistan and in exile. Founded by Afghan journalists in 2022, we document the lives, rights, and experiences of women under Taliban rule, including stories that are hidden, under-reported, or absent from official records.

Why it matters

Under Taliban rule, Afghan women are being excluded from public life – and increasingly from the systems that record what happens to them. Violence can go undocumented, women’s lives can become invisible, and abuses can be denied. Independent, women-led journalism helps make these realities visible and preserves evidence for accountability. 

What do we do?

We report:
Investigative journalism on violence against women and girls, forced marriage, disappearances and detention, women’s education and work, health and mental health, women journalists, and freedom of expression.

We train:
Zan Times provides journalism training, mentorships, and paid opportunities for Afghan women journalists, including those working inside Afghanistan. In 2024 and 2025, we trained 70 women journalists in Afghanistan. In 2026, we launched the Zan Times Fellowship, which offers Afghan women journalists training, mentorship, work opportunities, and a monthly stipend as they join our newsroom for 10 months. Within two weeks, we received 860 applications from women living all across the country. Currently, 12 Afghan women are working as Zan Times Fellows.

We preserve:
Through projects such as the Public Women’s Archive, Zan Times documents the lives and experiences of women who risk disappearing from public records.

    Our impact

    Reporting reach:
    Through partnerships with international media organizations, Zan Times brings reporting to audiences around the world. In three years, our journalism has been cited, translated or republished in more than 15 languages and 25 countries.

    Media partners:
    Our partners have included The Guardian, The Fuller Project, Courrier International, Women’s eNews, Nadja, The Glorious Letter, Lighthouse Reports, Afghan Witness, Avvenire.it,  More to Her Story, Himal Southasian, and the Indian Express.

    Awards and recognition:
    Our reporting has been recognized with the Human Rights Press Award for Newsroom in Exile, the Johann-Philipp-Palm Award, and the Pen2Pen Freedom of Expression Award. In 2025, one of our journalists reporting from inside Afghanistan received an International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism Award.

    Support us

    Reporting from Afghanistan requires secure communications, careful verification, trauma-informed editing, and fair payment for journalists working at risk. Zan Times does not ask reporters inside Afghanistan to work for free.

    We are building a sustainable newsroom supported by readers, foundations, major donors, and media partners.

    We warmly invite collaboration with international media, researchers, and human-rights organizations to bring Afghan women’s stories and evidence to wider audiences – including media collaborations, co-publications, and civil society partnerships.

    How you can help:

    • Support the journalism:
      Make a one-time or monthly donation.
    • Stay connected:
      Receive original investigations, reporting from inside Afghanistan, and weekly updates through the newsletter.
    • Partner with us:
      Work with Zan Times on media, research, or human-rights collaborations.

    Our Mission

    Zan Times is an Afghan women-led newsroom making visible the stories and experiences that Taliban rule is trying to erase. We document human rights violations under Taliban rule, support Afghan women journalists to tell their own stories, and preserve evidence that might otherwise disappear. Our reporting is sensitive and designed to protect people who have experienced violence. 

    Our Vision

    We envision an Afghanistan where everyone can live with freedom, dignity, and equal rights – and where women and LGBTQ+ people are free to speak, be heard, and shape their own futures.

    Zan Times team

    Zan Times has a small, core team, all of whom work in exile. For the safety of colleagues and operations inside Afghanistan, some of our colleagues in exile and all of our colleagues inside Afghanistan cannot be publicly identified. For their safety, all journalists and writers working with Zan Times from Afghanistan use pen names.

    Meet our team