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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometres (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. As of 2021, Afghanistan's population is 40.2 million, composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Qizilbash, Aimak, Pashayi, Baloch, Pamiris, Nuristanis, and others.
The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist and Pashtun nationalist militant political movement in Afghanistan. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the United States invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country, although its government has not yet been recognized by any country. The Taliban government has been criticized for restricting human rights in Afghanistan, including the right of women and girls to work and to have an education.
The treatment of women by the Taliban refers to actions and policies by various Taliban regimes which are either specific or highly commented upon, mostly due to discrimination, since they first took control in 1996. During their first rule of Afghanistan (1996–2001), the Taliban were notorious internationally for their misogyny and violence against women. Since 1996, women were mandated to wear the burqa at all times in public. In a systematic segregation sometimes referred to as gender apartheid, women were not allowed to work, nor were they allowed to be educated after the age of eight. Women seeking an education were forced to attend underground schools, where they and their teachers risked execution if caught. They were not allowed to be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone, which led to illnesses remaining untreated. They faced public flogging and execution for violations of the Taliban's laws. The Taliban allowed, and in some cases encouraged, marriage for girls under the age of 16. Amnesty International reported that 80 per cent of Afghan marriages were forced.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy is a British journalist. He is the lead presenter of Channel 4 News. He also presents Unreported World, a foreign-affairs documentary series.
Saira Shah is a British author, reporter and documentary filmmaker. She produces, writes and narrates current affairs films.
Lyse Marie Doucet, is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter. She presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and also reports for BBC Radio 4 and BBC News in the United Kingdom. She also makes and presents documentaries.
Christina Lamb OBE is a British journalist and author. She is the chief foreign correspondent of The Sunday Times.
Abigail "Abi" Austen, is a Northern Irish-born Scottish journalist and former British Army officer. She is the first officer in the British Army to begin gender reassignment while in the Army.
Kidnapping and hostage taking has become a common occurrence in Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Kidnappers include Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters and common criminal elements.
The mass media in Afghanistan is monitored by the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC), and includes broadcasting, digital and printing. It is mainly in Dari and Pashto, the official languages of the nation. It was reported in 2019 that Afghanistan had over 107 TV stations and 284 radio stations, including 100s of print media and over 1,800 online media outlets. After the return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in 2021, there was a concern that the mass media will significantly decrease in the country. The number of digital media outlets is steadily increasing with the help of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and other such online platforms. IEA's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid suggested that the media should be in line with Sharia and national interests.
BBC Persian Television is the BBC's Persian language news channel that was launched on 14 January 2009. The service is broadcast by satellite and is also available online. It is aimed at the 120 million Persian-speakers in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Hamida Barmaki was a renowned Afghan law professor and human rights activist. She was killed together with her family in a suicide attack.
Nelufar Hedayat is a British journalist and presenter who hosts the podcast Course Correction and is the correspondent for Doha Debates. She has worked in television across the BBC, as well as on Channel 4, Netflix, Fusion and The Guardian newspaper, covering breaking news, live events and in-depth investigations in some of the world's most dangerous places. Her work often focuses on cultural upheaval experienced by women, children, and families during a conflict, especially in her native Afghanistan.
Yalda Hakim is an Australian broadcast journalist, news presenter, and documentary maker. After her family left Afghanistan and settled in Australia in 1986, she grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta and went on to study journalism. She started her career at SBS Television, moving to BBC TV in 2012. Hakim predominantly presents on BBC World News.
Jamila Mujahed is a journalist of Afghanistan.
Ruqaiya Sultan Begum was the first and chief wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar.
Jenny Naomi Kleeman is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. She has reported for Channel 4's foreign affairs series Unreported World and BBC One's Panorama, and was a launch presenter on Times Radio. She regularly writes for The Guardian and The Sunday Times Magazine.
Hamida Assil, better known as Rukhshana, was an Afghan singer. Referred as one of the first Afghan female singers, she earned her recognition during 1950s and 1970s.
Shaunagh Connaire is an Emmy-nominated Irish broadcast journalist, who has worked for the BBC, Channel 4 and CNBC amongst others.
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References
- 1 2 "Hamida Ghafour". bbc.co.uk. BBC. April 4, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- 1 2 Mills, Selina (May 12, 2007). "Even in the hell of Kabul, hope springs eternal". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
