Just as Afghani girls were ready to return to school for the first time in seven months on March 23, the Taliban — which seized ruling power in Afghanistan last summer — that morning reversed its decision to reopen girls’ secondary schools, citing a need for more time to draw up policies in line with the Islamic law Sharia.
When Pary Gul, a Christian woman from Afghanistan, met Pope Francis Sept. 22, she gave him her wedding ring as a reminder of her husband, who has disappeared and may be dead.
Pashtana Zalmai Khan Durrani had a choice to make: work to educate women inside Afghanistan despite the potential danger of doing so, or leave for a safer location. She chose to be courageous and not take the easy way out.
With the Taliban now in full control of Afghanistan, females in that country could face discrimination and hardships not seen in two decades, experts and women’s rights advocates said.
After seeing the Taliban’s sweep through Afghanistan to retake governing control, Colleen Kelly wonders if accountability for the death of her brother in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York 20 years ago and the subsequent war in Afghanistan will ever be achieved.
Caritas Italy announced the suspension of charitable activities in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of the country.
The U.S. bishops’ conference emphasized the need for the U.S. government to work quickly to achieve its goal of relocating 30,000 special immigrant visa applicants from Afghanistan because it’s a “monumental task that hangs in the balance.”
The “human dignity” of Afghanistan’s people “must be respected” amid the chaos in the country, the head of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services said Aug. 17.
As thousands of Afghans who cooperated with NATO forces seek to flee the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Kabul, the Jesuit Refugee Service UK is calling on the British government to provide safe routes to the country for asylum seekers.
Hours before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, Pope Francis expressed his hope for the peace and safety of the country’s citizens.
