The Taliban try to change the channel on grim news by unveiling a “supercar”
Two years of crippling economic decline; famine and near universal poverty haunting the country. Half of the population enduring severe hunger, with malnutrition rates at record highs. Women and girls banned from education and work, and not allowed to leave
Taliban and Pauperization
Pauperization (noun): the process of making a person or group very poor (Oxford Languages) This is the second time that the Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, and not surprisingly, its people are once again facing
Zan Times exclusive: More than 170 die of extreme cold in 11 provinces
By Mahtab Safi*, Mehsa Elham* in Afghanistan, and Freshta Ghani Ishaq’s mud house in Firozkoh city, the capital of Ghor province, faces away from the
How do women-led households survive under the Taliban?
By Mahsa Elham, Sana Atif, and Mahtab Safi Every day, Anis Gul, 46, begins her day by pushing a wooden wheelbarrow for more than two
Experts sound the alarm about the state of groundwater in Herat
By Matin Mehrab Field research by a team at Herat University shows that the groundwater level of Herat has fallen by 20 to 25 percent
Latest Reports
A reporter’s story: My identity and profession have been outlawed
By Laila* I want to tell you about my forbidden identity, my life so far and a future that appears dark. Like many, August 2021 was the beginning of my woes. I was a female reporter in Herat province who
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Kabul is now a masculine city
By Siyahmuy Afzali During the last 17 months, my wandering soul has not found peace. My city — my Kabul — has become a purgatory
I have become the woman that traditional village society wants me to be
By Mehrtaj I started my first job in 2007 when I was still in seventh grade. Even now, when someone asks my first boss about
They annihilated my best friends
By Soheyla As hope was blossoming in our hearts, the dark shadow of the Taliban regime arrived. The pain of losing Mahsa, Zahra, Habiba, Latifah,
My paintings and I have emerged from war
Interviewer: Zahra Mousawi Interviewee: Shamsia Hassani Shamsia Hassani embodies everything the Taliban hate. She’s a woman, an artist whose graffiti murals were created on walls and buildings so they could be seen by the public. If that wasn’t enough, the
16 days to focus the world on ending sexual and gender-based violence
By Zakia Shefayee The United Nations General Assembly named November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in 2000. The
Hijab as a Political Issue
By Sarkash Women’s dress, especially the hijab, is a concept that Islamic societies have long struggled with. Today, it is more a political matter rather
‘We did not think that we would return alive’: Interview with a protester
By Zahra Mousawi Zan Times is documenting the experience and analysis of female activists who are resisting the Taliban. For the start of this series,