THE SCOTSMAN: The opposition party in Afghanistan has "strongly appealed" to the United Nations Security Council and the international community to refrain from legitimising the Taliban regime ahead of the UN’s quarterly meeting on Afghanistan. The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan (NRCSA) warned international authorities that recognising the Taliban as a legitimate government would be detrimental to the pursuit of peace, stability, and the rights of the Afghan people      Full news...

Devdiscourse: "One of the most illustrative examples of the systematic discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan today is the relentless issuance of edicts, decrees, declarations and directives restricting their rights, including their freedom of movement, attire and behaviour, and their access to education, work, health and justice,"      Full news...

Fox News: Issa said the cable also revealed that “there was no expectation” by the State Department that there would be sustainability in the region and knew that the billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment that was left behind was going to fall into the Taliban’s hands. Issa said the cable went out on July 13, 2021, the response came back a week later on July 20, and Kabul officially fell weeks later on Aug. 15.      Full news...

Amnesty International: The report, ‘The Taliban’s war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan’, presents a detailed legal analysis of how the Taliban’s draconian restrictions on the rights of Afghanistan’s women and girls, together with the use of imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, could amount to the crime against humanity of gender persecution under Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).      Full news...

UN News: This year, some 2.3 million Afghan boys and girls are expected to face acute malnutrition. Of this number, 875,000 will need treatment for severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition. Furthermore, around 840,000 pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are likely to experience acute malnutrition, jeopardising their ability to give their babies the best start in life.      Full news...

SALAM WATANDAR: “We came to Kabul from Kapisa, hoping that some job would be available for us, but for now, my husband works as laborer and I am also a housewife. It is nearly impossible to pay the expenses of the house of my in-laws, which was used for our livelihood.” said Sheeba, a woman who worked as a teacher before the establishment of the Islamic Emirate. After imposition of restrictions on women, she stayed at home and her husband became unemployed at the same time.Sheeba said that she used to work as a teacher in Kapisa and with the closing of the schools, she became unemployed and now she is in confused and without a future plan. Unemployment has multiplied the pressure of life on her shoulders. “Problems of house rent and food cannot be solved. This situation hurts me and puts pressure on my soul. We have a miserable life.”      Full news...

8 Subh: Female prisoners in Taliban-controlled prisons in the provinces of Jowzjan, Faryab, and Samangan are enduring a deplorable situation. They face humiliation, insults, physical torture, and sexual assault. According to the findings of Hasht-e Subh Daily, since the collapse of the Republic regime, the Taliban have detained and imprisoned 90 women in the three northern provinces. Out of these, 36 women are in Faryab province, 34 women are in Samangan province, and another 20 women are in Jowzjan province. These women have been subjected to inappropriate treatment by the Taliban in prisons over the past year.      Full news...

UN News: Following a systematic crackdown on the rights of Afghan women and girls by the Taliban – from attending school to working at the UN – “the stage may be set for multiple preventable deaths that could amount to femicide” unless restrictions are reversed rapidly, independent UN human rights experts announced on Friday, following an eight-day visit to the country.      Full news...

Hasht-e-Subh Daily: Numerous reports have surfaced over the past two years about extramarital relationships and sexual assault by Taliban commanders on young women and girls during their rule in the country. Recently, in Ghor province, a Taliban militant named Abdul Qodos attempted to sexually assault a young girl named Zarmina in her father’s house in the Saad Siah area of the city of Firozkoh, the center of Ghor province. When Zarmina resisted, Abdul Qodos shot and killed her. Reliable sources in Ghor province have confirmed these details.      Full news...

EuroNews: A group of Afghan women protested in Kabul on Saturday, defying a crackdown on dissent to urge foreign nations not to formally recognise the Taliban government ahead of a United Nations summit next week.Protesters opposing creeping curbs on women’s rights have been beaten or detained since the Taliban surged back to power in 2021, and security forces have fired into the air to disperse some rallies.      Full news...

NewYork Post: Islamic State terrorists are using Afghanistan as a base for “aspirational plotting” against American and European targets in the wake of President Biden’s disastrous military withdrawal, according to a secret Pentagon assessment allegedly leaked by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira. The US intelligence findings, part of a trove posted to the Discord messaging platform, discussed specific ISIS plans to hit major events like the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Qatar, as well as smaller-scale attacks on churches, embassies, and other targets, the Washington Post reported.      Full news...

The Independent: The Taliban has banned women from participating in Eid gatherings in two districts in Afghanistan ahead of widespread celebrations expected in the country to mark the end of Ramadan. Two similar notices showed local Taliban leaders in northern Baghlan district and the northeastern district of Takhar said “it is forbidden for women to go out in groups during the days of Eid ul-Fitr” on Friday. The orders are not applicable across Afghanistan, but only in the two districts.      Full news...

AFP: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released on Tuesday a stark new assessment of 2022 data estimating 34 million Afghans were living below the poverty line. The figure is a staggering increase of 15 million on 2020, the last full year of rule by the Western-backed government that crumbled in a matter of weeks the following summer.      Full news...

Nimrokh: The sound of her calloused palms rubbing together was audible as she vigorously rubbed her hands. Seated beside a bountiful collection of freshly picked vegetables, the woman deftly tied them into neat bundles, utilizing pre-threaded strands she had set aside. Mint, onions, chives, and a variety of other vegetables were artfully stacked atop one another, each bundle a testament to her skillful craftsmanship. The small plot of land, situated within the walls of her house yard, provided a humble but plentiful harvest.      Full news...

Index on Censorship: Female journalists are forced to work remotely as much as possible for their own safety, and Zan Times advises them to only speak to sources who they can be sure are not linked to the Taliban. Any time they tell someone they’re a journalist, they risk being identified. For women still working as journalists in Afghanistan, safety is paramount.      Full news...

Afghanistan International: The Taliban’s Ministry of Education has introduced new uniforms for male and female schoolchildren in Afghanistan. According to the Taliban’s "Uniform Bill", boys should wear Shalwar Kameez and girls should wear skirts, scarves, and face masks. The Taliban has declared that wearing the new uniform is mandatory in public and private schools. The Taliban has introduced these uniforms for female students even though girls’ schools have been closed and millions of female students are deprived of education.      Full news...

Kabul Now: he United Nations has asked all its 3,300 female and male staff in Afghanistan to stay home for two days and stop working after its officials “received word of an order” by the Taliban that bans female national employees of the UN agencies from work on Tuesday. UN officials in Afghanistan “received word of an order by the de facto authorities that bans female national staff members of the United Nations from working,” the Reuters quoted the UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as saying to reporters in New York.      Full news...

Fraqnce24: In the latest example of public punishments carried out by the Taliban, two men were forced to wear a chador, a full-length hijab traditionally worn by women as a form of public "humiliation". But other punishments meted out by the Taliban have been far more violent, including flagellations and public executions. While Afghan activists have documented dozens of public punishments since October 2022, video evidence of them is scarce – only two videos document these brutal tactics.      Full news...

8am: Local sources in Panjshir province report that Taliban have exploded the boys’ high school building “Dahan-Riyot” in the Khinj district of this province. Sources told Hasht-e Subh that Taliban destroyed the school with a mine explosion around 9:00 am on Monday.      Full news...

8am: In the past two decades, female beauty salons were a lucrative source of income for women and girls, who used the money to support their families and even attend college. However, since the Taliban‘s arrival on August 15, 2021, these salons have seen a sharp decline in business. Several female hairstylists have closed their salons in various districts of Herat province due to threats from the Taliban, while others have left Afghanistan because of a lack of income. Those who continue to work despite the Taliban‘s threats and warnings have reported a decrease in their business income. They have stated that, if the Taliban continue to impose restrictions on women, there will no longer be any female hairstylists left in Afghanistan.      Full news...

Radio Liberty: At least 20 Afghan women marched in the capital, Kabul, on March 26 to demand the right to education for women and girls before being rounded up by a Taliban patrol. The demonstration comes amid UN and other international condemnation over ongoing strictures under the Taliban-led government to keep women and girls out of schools, jobs, media, and other aspects of life since the hard-line militant group took power after U.S.-led international forces left in 2021.      Full news...

8am: Several journalists and media workers in Afghanistan have reported that they are facing increasing pressure from Taliban intelligence. They have stated that, due to arrests and threats of intimidation from the Taliban, journalists working for them have resorted to extreme self-censorship and have experienced mental health issues. Additionally, the majority of Afghan journalists are dealing with severe financial difficulties. Organizations that provide aid to journalists have corroborated the precarious situation of these journalists.      Full news...

Nimrokh: As Afghanistan’s new academic year gets underway with the ringing of school bells, nearly half of the country’s students are denied the right to education. Despite the significance of Hamal 03 (March 23) as Afghanistan’s Education Day, the Taliban marked the start of the new school year on Hamal 01 (March 21) with a male-only ceremony at Amani High School in Kabul. No female teacher or student was allowed to attend the ceremony.      Full news...

8am: Women’s Day is being celebrated on March 8, while Afghan women are in Taliban prisons and are excluded from society every day, and the world is silent. The brave women of Afghanistan are at the forefront of the fight against international terrorism such as the Taliban. The suffering that Afghan women and girls suffer and no women in other lands have ever experienced.      Full news...

CNN: Young Afghan women gathered outside Kabul University on Monday to protest the ruling Taliban’s ban on female education as their male peers returned to school for a new academic year and the United Nations heard the restriction may amount to a crime against humanity. A video shared widely on social media shows a group of girls sitting on the ground outside Kabul University reading their books. CNN has not independently verified when the video was filmed.      Full news...

8am: According to sources, it has been reported that a woman has committed suicide by hanging herself in Faryab province. Based on the information provided to Hasht-e Subh by sources, a woman aged 34 committed suicide on Thursday evening in Sahrayee Qala located in the Khwaja Sabzposh district of Faryab.      Full news...

The Guardian: It is six weeks since the Taliban closed the door on girls’ education across Afghanistan and Zeina’s last vestiges of hope for her future died. A very different kind of life now lies ahead for the 20-year-old, a life of domestic drudgery, boredom and seclusion that she has no power to change. Since the Taliban took control in August 2021, Zeina had managed to convince her frightened family to let her stay at school. She held on to the belief that she would somehow find a way to finish her education and achieve her dream of getting a master’s in medicine. This dream has now ended.      Full news...

8am: According to sources, an 18-year-old girl hung herself in the Kunduz province’s capital city. The incident occurred on Monday night in the Zakhil Qadim region of Kunduz city’s third district. According to local sources in Kunduz, the young girl took her own life as a result of being forced into marriage. Her family had reportedly arranged for her engagement to a boy without her consent.      Full news...

VOA: ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban have indefinitely barred girls from taking private university entrance exams, tightening their ban on women’s education in the country. Ziaullah Hashmi, a spokesperson for the Taliban higher education ministry, Saturday confirmed to VOA they had sent out a letter to private Afghan universities across the country ordering them not to enroll female students for the upcoming spring semester.      Full news...

Amu TV:A research organization that asked not to be identified for security reasons said they have recorded at least 2,200 cases of forced marriages in the past year, of which 900 were girls married off to Taliban members. “I was not ready but was forced to marry” Shukria, from Balkh province, is being forced to marry after being stopped from attending university. She said her family insists she marries in order to prevent the Taliban from forcing her “to marry one of their members.”      Full news...