2026: Feb wk4 -- Feb wk3 -- Feb wk2 -- Jan wk5 -- Jan wk4 -- Jan wk3 -- Jan wk2 -- Jan wk1
2025/'24: Dec wk4 -- Dec wk3 -2 -- Dec wk1 --
Click here for earlier Straight of the Trenches stories

 When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'.Artali

Amu - Feb 26, 2026 - by Siyar Sirat
{UN expert warns Afghanistan faces ‘profound’ health, human rights crisis
Afghanistan faces a “profound and escalating health and human rights crisis,” particularly for women and girls, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan told the Human Rights Council on Thursday, presenting a new report focused on the right to health. Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur, said his findings were based on consultations with more than 100 Afghans, nearly all of them inside the country, as well as cooperation with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN country team. The report concludes that under Taliban rule, Afghanistan’s already fragile health system — weakened by decades of conflict, poverty, chronic underinvestment and heavy reliance on foreign donors — is deteriorating further. While recent cuts in international aid have compounded the crisis, Bennett said the Taliban’s “gender-oppressive policies” are causing even greater harm by preventing women and girls from accessing essential services. Those from minority and marginalized communities, he added, face “intersecting and compounding barriers.” “These findings reinforce my previous conclusion that the Taliban are systematically depriving women and girls of their fundamental rights, permeating all areas of life and amounting to crimes against humanity,” Bennett told the Council. Quoting a woman doctor still working inside Afghanistan, he described how health for women and girls now depends on more than medical care. “Today in Afghanistan, being healthy means much more than not being sick,” Bennett said, quoting the doctor. “It means having access to basic health care, enough nutritious food, clean water, safe shelter, and mental well-being. But for women and girls, health also depends on something even more fundamental — freedom: freedom to move, freedom to study, freedom to work, and freedom to seek care without fear.” Despite mounting restrictions, female health workers remain on the front lines delivering essential services, Bennett said, calling their work a reminder that protecting the right to health requires restoring the rights and dignity of women and girls. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan has endured what Bennett described as multiple shocks: a shrinking economy alongside a growing population, severe droughts and earthquakes, sweeping cuts to foreign aid, and the largely involuntary return of more than 2.7 million Afghans from neighboring countries in 2025 alone. At the same time, he said, the country is governed by what he called “an extremist de facto authority committing egregious human rights violations.” Bennett highlighted several recent developments that he said warranted urgent attention. Last month, the Taliban announced new criminal rules for the courts that, he said, set the stage for further widespread human rights violations. He also cited recent decrees concerning the separation of spouses and regulations on preachers, saying they would be subject to further scrutiny under his mandate. He expressed deep alarm at the increasing use of corporal punishment, noting that there were more public floggings last year than in all previous years combined since the Taliban retook power, and that the upward trend was continuing. Bennett also raised concerns about retaliatory attacks, including extrajudicial killings of former government and security officials, particularly those who have been forcibly returned to Afghanistan. In addition, he criticized the Taliban’s decision to bar Afghan women, including UN staff members, from entering United Nations premises in the country. “The longer this attack on women’s rights is allowed to continue, the more the Taliban will feel emboldened,” he said, urging member states to demand the immediate reversal of the ban. Recalling his address to the Council a year ago, Bennett said he had warned that the Taliban were cementing their control over nearly every aspect of Afghan life and that the situation was likely to deteriorate further. “Under autocratic regimes, things tend to go from bad to worse in stages, step by step,” he said. “What yesterday seemed outrageous becomes normalized today. Are we normalizing the outrageous actions of the Taliban while Afghans endure the consequences?” Still, he said, “the situation is not hopeless.” He welcomed the Council’s establishment of an independent investigative mechanism and called for it to become operational as soon as possible, stressing that accountability processes are essential. At the same time, he urged governments to provide practical support to the Afghan people without benefiting the Taliban unless and until they reverse their policies, particularly those affecting gender equality. “Only when rights are restored,” he said, “can the people of Afghanistan thrive and shape the future they deserve.”} Source: https://amu.tv/228327/

Amu - Feb 26, 2026 - by Siyar Sirat
{UN official warns Taliban penal code strips legal protections from women
Susan Ferguson, the UN Women special representative in Afghanistan, has warned that the Taliban’s penal code further erodes the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, removing legal equality and exposing them to greater risks of violence. In a statement, Ferguson said the Decree No. 12, referred to the Taliban’s newly-enacted penal code, formally eliminates equality between men and women before the law and places husbands in a position of authority over their wives. The penal code, which was shared with Taliban courts for implementation in early January, limits women’s ability to seek protection or justice, the agency said.
Under the decree, a husband is criminally liable for violence within marriage only if he causes severe and visible physical injuries. Other forms of abuse — including psychological and sexual violence — are not prohibited, according to the statement. The measure also imposes significant barriers for women seeking justice. Ferguson said women must prove abuse before a male judge, appear fully covered and be accompanied by a male guardian, who could be the alleged perpetrator of the violence. It further allows women, or their relatives, to be jailed if they frequently visit a relative’s home without their husband’s permission.
Acts deemed “immoral” or “corrupt” are defined as crimes punishable by the harshest penalties, including death, she said, adding that women are considered particularly vulnerable under those provisions, given existing Taliban restrictions on their movement and participation in public life. According to UN Women, the penal code also criminalizes criticism of Taliban officials, their policies or their interpretation of Sharia law, with penalties that may include imprisonment or corporal punishment. This further reduces women’s participation in public space and limits advocacy for their rights, the statement said. Ferguson said UN Women was “profoundly concerned” about the implications of the measure. “Afghan women and girls have the right to live free from violence and discrimination,” she said. “They are entitled to dignity, safety, freedom of movement and participation in public life.” The envoy called on the Taliban to ensure that all laws and policies protect the rights of women and girls in line with international human rights treaties and conventions to which Afghanistan is a party. The Taliban’s penal code, consisting of a preamble, three sections, 10 chapters and 119 articles, has been approved by the Taliban leader. The Taliban said the code will soon be published in their official gazette. Human rights organizations have sharply criticized the document, calling it a further step to “erase” women from Afghanistan’s society.} Source: https://amu.tv/228286/


Zan Times - Feb 25, 2026 - by Rad Radan
{The story of wife and mother of three Taliban fighters killed in war
My name is Rahima. I am a 45-year-old woman whose life has been bound to war and displacement. I am originally from Badghis province, where my family has deep roots, but fate has carried me elsewhere. It has been exactly 20 days since I left my ancestral land for the city of Herat. In this exile, I have no shelter except my son-in-law’s house, where I live surrounded by grief and my orphaned children. The story of my life, and of the men in my family joining the ranks of the Taliban, is a familiar one. My husband had been with the Taliban since the first regime. In those days, we survived through agriculture. He worked on our land in Badghis, and our livelihood came from its harvest. At that time, the Taliban also supported him financially so that our household could manage more easily. I was very young when I entered this life — I think I was perhaps 14 or 15 when my father gave me in marriage to this man. That was about 30 years ago. My husband had long been aligned with the Taliban and stayed with them, engaged in jihad, as he called it. Our first great sorrow began with my husband in the holy month of Ramadan nine years ago. I remember that day clearly. He left the house in the morning to fight in clashes between the former government and the Taliban in Badghis. By that same afternoon, I was told that he had been killed. The Taliban carried his body back to me. He was 50 years old when he finally lost his life. In those days, my youngest son, who is now here beside me, was still wrapped in swaddling clothes. He never saw his father’s face. Once they had grown, my sons followed their in their father’s path. They never went to school to receive a formal education; rather, they received religious lessons at madrasas.  Under the influence of that environment, one after another, they stood with the Taliban. My eldest son, Rahim Khan, was 25 when he was killed in the fighting six years ago. He left behind two wives. One returned to her father’s home, but the other remained with me, carrying her children and her grief. Two years later, my second son, Rostam Khan, was 22 when he also lost his life on the battlefield. One by one, the three breadwinners of my household were taken in the war against the former government, leaving us widowed and alone in this vast world. Now I am part of an army of sorrow. Our family has 12 members, including the orphaned children left behind by my sons. These are the young ones left behind by my sons. In addition, one widow of my eldest son and the widow of my second son are under my care. I myself have three young sons, born in the final years of my life with my husband. They are 13, 11, and 9. They are still too young to work as laborers or migrants, too young to provide for such a large household. I married one of my daughters off in Badghis. My other daughter is here in Herat, and for now we are living in her husband’s house. The main reason we left Badghis for Herat was misery, hunger, and having nowhere to turn. As long as my husband and older sons were alive, we had someone to rely on. After they were killed, there was no one left to work our land or tend the fields. Then a merciless drought struck, and the soil no longer yielded crops. In Badghis, we had neither bread to eat nor a provider to secure food for us. Out of sheer desperation, we packed what little we had and came to Herat. My young sons collect plastic and scraps from the garbage in the market that they sell for a few coins. Some nights they return with pieces of dry bread that they have found. Other times, my son-in-law, who is only a day labourer, buys bread for us.  How long can this situation continue? I have neither the strength to work, nor is there any work available for a woman such as myself. The bitterest part of my story is that no one comes to ask about us, despite my husband and two sons sacrificing their lives for this system. The Emirate government has not given us any help. No one will  write my name on the lists of aid organizations or humanitarian assistance. I am without protection. Five months ago, I managed to explain my situation to the office of the governor of Badghis. “Go. When conditions improve in the future, we will help,” was all they said. I am left with these empty promises. I have placed my hope in God, knowing that no one is coming to rescue me in this world filled with abandonment. I still keep an old registration card that was issued to my husband 25 years ago during the first Taliban period. Then, that card brought us assistance. Now no one in the Taliban ranks remembers us now that my husband has given his life and my sons lie beneath the soil. That card is my only relic of days when we had a provider. Today it is a torn piece of paper, unable to help fight the hunger of my orphaned grandchildren. We remain at the door of my son-in-law’s house, each day passing between fear and fragile hope as our stomachs remain empty.
Rad Radan is the pseudonym of a freelance journalist in Afghanistan.} Source: https://zantimes.com/2026/02/25/on-being-abandoned-after-her-husband-and-sons-died-fighting-for-the-taliban/

Amu - Feb 24, 2026 - by Bais Hayat
{Afghanistan takes center stage at UN Human Rights Council meeting
Afghanistan’s human rights situation under Taliban rule emerged as a central focus of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, with several countries voicing alarm over restrictions on women and broader civil liberties. Opening the session, representatives from multiple governments cited what they described as a worsening rights climate since the Taliban returned to power. Megi Fino, Albania’s deputy minister for Europe and foreign affairs, said women and girls in Afghanistan were facing “systematic repression.” “We remain deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, particularly the systematic repression of women and girls,” Fino said. “Their institutionalized deprivation of fundamental rights requires sustained international attention and accountability.” Iceland’s foreign minister, Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, called for the creation of an independent investigative mechanism to examine alleged human rights violations in Afghanistan. Turkey’s deputy foreign minister, Mehmet Kemal Bozay, said Afghanistan continued to face “profound humanitarian challenges and unique human rights issues” that required sustained and constructive international engagement. At the same session, Kyrgyzstan’s foreign minister, Jeenbek Kulubaev, warned against isolating Afghanistan, arguing that doing so could worsen humanitarian and human rights conditions. “Afghanistan should not be viewed solely as a source of problems, but as a country with significant human potential,” he said. “Isolating Afghanistan and restricting its access to financial resources will only aggravate the humanitarian situation and undermine support for fundamental human rights.” The United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan is scheduled to present a new report to the council on Thursday, Feb. 26. At least two separate reports on the country’s human rights situation are expected to be released during the session. The special rapporteur has previously urged the international community not to normalize relations with the Taliban without accountability for rights violations, emphasizing the need for continued scrutiny.} Source: https://amu.tv/228007/


burka terror
Amu - Feb 23, 2026 - by Siyar Sirat
{UN official: ‘Appeasement’ does not work in face of Taliban rights abuses
Annalena Baerbock, president of the United Nations General Assembly, warned against appeasement in response to the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls, saying that lowering human rights standards would never produce results. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, Baerbock criticized arguments suggesting that “Kandahar is different and perhaps Kabul might be more moderate,” saying such reasoning had led to dangerous compromises. “If women are not safe, no one will be safe,” she said. In remarks that were both critical and self-reflective, Baerbock referred to debates within the United Nations system and in world capitals over how to continue delivering humanitarian aid to Afghanistan while the Taliban were barring women from working — including for UN agencies — and preventing girls from attending school. She acknowledged that in some of those discussions, the imperative to protect women’s rights had, at times, been softened in favor of maintaining access for aid delivery. “These were difficult debates and difficult decisions,” she said, noting that some policymakers had hoped that more moderate voices within the Taliban might prevail. Baerbock warned that history shows major systems rarely collapse in a single dramatic moment. “They erode slowly, rule by rule, commitment by commitment,” she said. Her remarks come as human rights groups increasingly describe the situation of women in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid,” a term Baerbock referenced in her speech. Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from secondary education, closed universities to women and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s employment, travel and public participation. Calling her speech “a call to action,” Baerbock urged governments and international institutions not to normalize what she described as severe structural human rights violations. “Women’s rights are the benchmark for the state of a society,” she said. “If half of the world’s population is not safe, no one will be safe.”} Source: https://amu.tv/227770/


Internet Shutdown
Jinhagency - Womens News Agency - Feb 21, 2026 BAHARAN LAHIB
{Internet Shutdown… A Heavy Blow to Women in Afghanistan and Iran
Internet shutdowns in Afghanistan and Iran are not mere technical failures; they deprive women of online education, home-based businesses, and global communication, silencing their voices in society.
Kabul – For many citizens, the 72-hour internet shutdown in Afghanistan was not merely a technical problem; it was the closure of the last channels of communication with the outside world. This report reflects the perspective of an Afghan girl named Zoya Noor, who sees the internet blackout not as a simple disruption, but as a profound psychological, educational, and social blow. In a country where women are deprived of in-person education, work outside the home, and broad social participation, the internet has been their only outlet. Zoya Noor believes that when the internet is cut off, women are once again confined within the walls of their homes and lose even that virtual connection. She explains, “For many girls, online education was the last opportunity to continue learning. Language classes, science courses, university studies, and communication with professors were all possible through the internet. Cutting the internet means cutting off this path completely.” Zoya Noor compares the situation in Afghanistan with internet shutdowns in Iran, saying, “In Iran as well, during protests, the internet was widely cut off, and activists, journalists, and female students faced severe restrictions in communication. I believe women are the first victims of internet shutdowns in both countries, because they rely on the digital space more than men to express their opinions and share their experiences. When this space is closed, their voices are silenced too.” She points out that “in Afghanistan, many small female entrepreneurs earned money by selling handicrafts or offering educational services online. Internet shutdowns destroy this source of income and increase their economic dependence. In Iran, many women created home-based businesses through social media and suffered every time the internet was restricted. This economic damage directly affects women’s financial independence.” Zoya Noor sees the internet not merely as a tool for entertainment, but also as a means of awareness. In light of the limited official media, women are able to access news, analyses, and the experiences of women in other countries through the internet. She adds, “When the internet is cut off, the feeling of isolation doubles. For a girl who has been banned from attending university and has lost the chance to work outside, the internet is the only window of hope. Internet shutdowns in Afghanistan are often accompanied by an atmosphere of fear; people do not know what is happening or why communications have suddenly stopped. I see a similar situation in Iran, where internet cuts during unrest prevented images and narratives from reaching the outside world. I believe this similarity shows that the internet has become a tool for controlling narratives in both societies.” Women in both countries face legal and social restrictions, and the internet represents an outlet for them. Cutting off this outlet is like closing a ventilation opening. She says, “For me personally, losing the internet means losing contact with friends, professors, and even distant relatives. This interruption increases the feeling of loneliness.” In a society where freedom of expression is restricted, the internet provided an opportunity to write and express without a mediator. Shutting it down means a return to enforced silence. With every internet blackout, Afghan and Iranian women fall further behind in global academic competition. This setback affects not only individuals, but the future of an entire generation. Zoya Noor concludes, “I consider cutting the internet a tool that harms women the most, because they are in greatest need of it for education, work, solidarity, and self-expression. From my perspective, the comparison between Afghanistan and Iran shows that wherever the internet is cut, the voice of women is the first to fade.”} Video - Source: https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/internet-shutdown-a-heavy-blow-to-women-in-afghanistan-and-iran-38608

Amu - Feb 20, 2026 - by Siyar Sirat
{Bennett to present report on women’s right to health in Afghanistan
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said he will present a new report on the right to health for women and girls in Afghanistan at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In a post on X following a recent visit to Pakistan, Bennett said he is preparing for the council’s 61st session and will deliver his report on Feb. 26. He also said he plans to make an oral statement addressing what he described as concerning recent human rights developments. Bennett’s report is expected to focus on access to health care for women and girls in Afghanistan, an issue that has drawn international scrutiny since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and imposed sweeping restrictions on women’s education, employment and mobility. The Human Rights Council session comes amid continued debate within the international community over how to address Afghanistan’s deepening humanitarian and rights crisis.} Source: https://amu.tv/227296/


Malala Yousafzai, The Fighter for Free Education for All
Zan Times - February 10, 2026 by Dr. Amna Mehmood
{Education without borders: How Afghan Women are rebuilding knowledge outside institutions
On the International Day of Education for Women and Girls, education is often discussed in terms of access: Who is allowed to enter a classroom, who is denied schooling, who is excluded by law or policy? In the case of Afghanistan, this conversation has been both urgent and necessary. Yet after years of documenting exclusion, a more analytically demanding question now emerges: What happens to education when institutions no longer function,and who carries knowledge forward when formal systems collapse? Afghanistan represents one of the most extreme cases of territorial exclusion from education. Universities are closed to women and secondary schooling is suspended as the Taliban has systematically dismantled the institutional architecture of learning. But education itself has not disappeared. Instead, it has reconfigured, moving beyond classrooms, borders, and state permission. In this transformation, Afghan women are not merely preserving learning; they are actively rebuilding education as a transnational, distributed, and woman-led practice. This is not a story of survival. It is a story of academic labour, intellectual continuity, and the emergence of new educational forms that challenge long-held assumptions about where knowledge resides and who is authorized to produce it.} Read more at Source: https://zantimes.com/2026/02/10/education-without-borders-how-afghan-women-are-rebuilding-knowledge-outside-institutions/

Malala Yousafzai and father Ziauddin Yousafzai
Zan Times - Nov 10, 2025 - by Ziauddin Yousafzai
{Letter from Ziauddin Yousafzai, co-founder of Malala Fund, for Afghan men
To Afghan fathers and brothers,
I have been where you are now. I was once a father watching helplessly as the Taliban tried to erase my daughter’s future. In 2008, they took over our town in Swat Valley and forbade our girls from going to school. My daughter, Malala, risked her life to speak out against this injustice. Over the last four years, your daughters and sisters have been fighting for their dreams and ambitions — learning in secret, expressing themselves through poetry and art, resisting in every way they can. And I have seen your courage too: male students walking out of their classrooms in protest as their female classmates were barred from learning, fathers risking everything to make sure their daughters can continue their education, families and communities opening their homes to support underground schools. You know that every girl deserves an education, and your bravery and love are keeping hope alive.
As Muslim men — whether in safety or in struggle — we are called by our faith to stand with girls and women in defending their right to learn, to work and to move freely. Education is not a Western idea; it is a sacred duty. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us that seeking knowledge is an obligation for every Muslim — man and woman alike. Our own history affirms this: Khadija, a successful businesswoman, and Aisha, one of the greatest scholars of Islam, each embodied the power of learning guided by faith. I know these are difficult and dangerous times. To stay silent in the face of injustice can feel safer, but it is to turn away from our faith’s legacy. Speaking against the Taliban’s gender apartheid regime is frightening, but remaining silent is far more terrifying because nothing will change on its own. To speak out is both a father’s duty and a believer’s duty to protect the dignity and future of our daughters. To every brave Afghan father and brother helping girls learn: I salute your courage. Never give up hope, and remember you are not alone. Malala Fund will continue standing with and supporting you. Until Afghanistan is free from gender apartheid, every home must become a secret school, every kitchen a classroom, every living room a place of resistance. You can shift cultural expectations and behaviours in your homes and show that valuing girls’ education is a mark of integrity and strength. You can create an environment where learning is protected, even when the world outside is hostile:
●      Teach reading, math or other skills at home. Even basic lessons, practiced consistently, help girls continue their education.
●      Share resources: Use phones and the internet (where possible) to download books, podcasts or educational videos. Organisations like Begum Organization, Education Bridge for Afghanistan and LEARN Afghan provide courses through radio, satellite television and online.
●      Encourage study circles: Brothers can quietly gather cousins, sisters or neighbours to read and study together, providing companionship and safety.
●      Model respect: Men should praise and encourage girls’ learning, showing boys that supporting their sisters’ education is honourable.
●      Create time and space: Brothers and fathers can take on household chores so girls have time to study.
●      Keep hope alive: Words of encouragement strengthen girls’ resilience in the face of oppression.
Remember that the Taliban can take away girls’ schools, jobs and public spaces, but they cannot take what lives in your heart and mind, nor the knowledge you choose to pass on. Your courage at home today strengthens the fight for girls and women’s freedom everywhere.
In solidarity,
Ziauddin Yousafzai, co-founder of Malala Fund} Source: https://zantimes.com/2025/11/10/letter-from-ziauddin-yousafzai-co-founder-of-malala-fund-for-zan-times/

Women's Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2026