Azadi Briefing

Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, a new RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, a senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban on December 24 banned all local and foreign nongovernmental organizations from employing Afghan women.

The order came from the Taliban’s economy minister, who said any NGO not complying with the edict will have its license revoked. The official said the ministry had received “serious complaints” about Afghan women working for NGOs not wearing the mandatory hijab, or Islamic head scarf, “correctly.”

The widely condemned order led major international aid agencies to halt their humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, including in the fields of health and education.

Why It's Important: The Taliban’s ban is the latest draconian restriction against women in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban seized power last year, it has severely curtailed women’s right to work and receive an education.

The order will rob tens of thousands of Afghan women employed by local and foreign organizations of their livelihoods at a time when many Afghans are struggling for survival. Many of the women are the sole breadwinners for their families. The Taliban’s ban will aggravate the economic crisis in Afghanistan, which is already reeling from mass unemployment and soaring inflation.

Foreign NGOs suspending their operations will also exacerbate the devastating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, one of the biggest in the world. Humanitarian assistance, including the distribution of food aid, can only be run with the help of Afghan women. Many initiatives are also specifically aimed at helping women, the most vulnerable group in the country of around 40 million. The move could put millions of Afghan women and their children at greater risk of hunger and disease.

What's Next: UN officials said they have held "constructive" talks with the Taliban over resuming their operations. More discussions are planned in the weeks ahead. But it unclear if the Taliban will reverse its ban. The militant group has hardened its policies in recent months as the prospect of international recognition has dimmed. Many observers have said the hard-line Islamists are reestablishing their brutal regime of the 1990s, which was an international pariah.

The Week's Best Stories

Hundreds of Afghan men -- professors, fellow students, husbands, and fathers -- are publicly voicing their opposition to the Taliban's decision to ban women from universities. The rare show of support from men in the deeply patriarchal society speaks volumes about public discontent with the Taliban's draconian steps against women and girls.

Thousands of Afghan soldiers are living a desperate existence in Iran, where they sought refuge after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul. Many describe having to resort to manual labor and even rifling through garbage to make ends meet, while others say they have no choice but to put their fighting skills to work for a private Russian mercenary group that has sought to recruit them to join the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban’s police chief in the northeastern province of Badakhshan was killed in a car bombing on December 26. At least two of his bodyguards were also slain in the attack.

The bombing was claimed by the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group, a rival of the Taliban. IS-K released a video showing the moment the car bomb killed Abdulhaq Abu Omar.

Why It's Important: Omar is considered to be one of the most senior Taliban security officials to be killed since the militants returned to power.

IS-K militants killed Hamdullah Mukhlis, the head of the Kabul military corps, in November 2021. In August of this year, IS-K militants carried out a bomb attack on a religious seminary headed by Rahimullah Haqqani, a key Taliban ideologue. The cleric was killed along with his brother, son, and several close associates.

Omar’s killing underscores the continued threat posed by IS-K, despite efforts by the Taliban to eliminate the group. In a bid to undermine the Taliban’s rule, IS-K militants have carried out high-profile attacks in major cities, including against the country’s religious minorities. More recently, IS-K has staged attacks in Afghanistan against the interests of countries allied with the Taliban.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

​Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, a new RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Mustafa Sarwar, a senior news editor at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

The Taliban banned women from attending universities in Afghanistan on December 20. In a statement, the Taliban's Higher Education Ministry said the decision was effective immediately, and ordered educational institutions to inform the ministry of their compliance. The ministry did not give any reasons for its decision.

The move was quickly condemned by countries and rights groups around the world. In Afghanistan, female university students wept and consoled each other after hearing the news. Students in Nangahar University in eastern Afghanistan staged a protest on December 21 and male students walked out of their exams in solidarity with their female classmates. On December 22, around 50 women staged a rally in Kabul that was violently broken up by Taliban fighters.

Why It's Important: The Taliban's university ban is the latest restriction against women in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban seized power last year, the militant group has severely curtailed female education and women's right to work. The militants have also imposed restrictions on women's appearances and freedom of movement.

The university ban is a major blow to women. But it was also expected. Nida Mohammad Nadim, a hard-line cleric who was appointed as the Taliban's minister for higher education in October, has said that female education is "un-Islamic and against Afghan values."

The Taliban's latest ban has also provided further evidence that the group is bent on reestablishing its brutal regime from the 1990s, when women were barred from working outside their homes and girls were banned from attending school.

What's Next: When it seized power, the Taliban pledged to uphold women's rights. The militant group projected a more moderate image to convince the world that it had changed. But the Taliban has failed to meet its promises and reimposed many of its repressive policies of the past. Observers have said the militants are likely to further restrict the rights of women.

The Week's Best

In interviews with Radio Azadi, female students described a feeling of despair and helplessness following the Taliban's ban on women attending university. Najiba, a second-year law student at Bamiyan University, said she felt like a "bird with no wings who wants to fly." Tamana Azizi, a medical student in Kunduz Province, said her dreams of serving her people as a doctor had been crushed. Farhat Rahmani, a journalism student, said she felt "destroyed."

The families of the eight people killed in a deadly Taliban raid last month have called for an international investigation. The incident occurred in Daikundi, a province in central Afghanistan that is home to the country's Shi'ite Hazara minority. The Taliban claimed that it had targeted and killed "armed rebels" in a village on November 25. But the survivors and the families of the victims told Radio Azadi that those killed were all civilians, including four children.

What To Keep An Eye On

The Taliban has changed the name of Charikar, the provincial capital of the northern province of Parwan, to Imam Azam. The new Arabic name refers to Imam Abu Hanifa, an eighth-century jurist who founded the Hanafi school of Islam, the Sunni denomination followed by the Taliban.

A local Taliban official told Radio Azadi on December 15 that the group had consulted local leaders and cultural figures. But information obtained by Radio Azadi suggested that the order for the name change had come from Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.

Why It's Important: Changing the name of Charikar, an ancient city with Buddhist roots, appears to be part of the Taliban's Islamization drive.

The move triggered widespread online condemnation, with Afghans accusing the Taliban of trying to eliminate indigenous cultural identities. The Taliban has previously changed the names of units in the Afghan military, replacing Persian and Pashto names with Arabic ones.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

I encourage you to visit our website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Until next time,

Mustafa Sarwar

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.

You can always reach us at newsletters@rferl.org.