John Philip Walker Lindh is an American Taliban member who was captured by United States forces as an enemy combatant during the United States' invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001. He was detained at Qala-i-Jangi fortress, used as a prison. He denied participating in the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi, a violent uprising of the Taliban prisoners, stating that he was wounded in the leg and hid in the cellar of the Pink House, in the southern half of the fort. He was one of the 86 prisoners who survived the uprising, from an estimated 400 prisoners in total. CIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann was killed during that uprising. Brought to trial in United States federal court in February 2002, Lindh accepted a plea bargain; he pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released on supervision on May 23, 2019, for a three-year period of supervised release.
James Douglas Muir Leno is an American television host, writer and comedian. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show from 1992 until 2009 when Conan O'Brien took over as host. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET, also on NBC. When O'Brien turned down NBC's offer to have Leno host a half hour monologue show before The Tonight Show to boost ratings amid reported viewership diminishing, it led to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict which resulted in Leno returning to hosting the show on March 1, 2010. He hosted his last episode of his second tenure on February 6, 2014. That year, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. From 2014 to 2022, he hosted Jay Leno's Garage, and from 2021 to 2023, hosted the revival of You Bet Your Life.
The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is an afghan militant movement in Afghanistan with an ideology comprising elements of Pashtun nationalism and the Deobandi current of Islamic fundamentalism. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the American invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 following the departure of most coalition forces, after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country. Its government is not recognized by any country. The Taliban government has been internationally condemned 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. In 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.
Heather Marie Mercer is an American who was one of 24 aid workers arrested in August 2001 by the Taliban in Afghanistan in connection with the Antioch International Movement of Churches and Germany-based Christian aid organization Shelter Now International. She, along with seven other Western aid workers and their sixteen Afghan coworkers, was arrested on August 3, 2001, and put on trial for violating the Taliban prohibition against proselytism. She was held captive in Kabul until anti-Taliban forces freed her in November 2001. She co-authored a book with her fellow captive, Dayna Curry, published in 2002 and entitled Prisoners of hope: the story of our captivity and freedom in Afghanistan.
Elijah Blue Allman, known professionally as P. Exeter Blue I , is an American musician, and the son of singer Cher and her second husband, Gregg Allman; he is the half-brother of Chaz Bono, Delilah Allman, Michael Allman, Layla Allman, and Devon Allman. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist and lyricist of the industrial metal band Deadsy.
Jean Thompson Kasem is a former American actress. She is the widow of radio personality and actor Casey Kasem.
Dalbandin is a city and the headquarter of Chagai district in Pakistan's Balochistan province, near the Iran and Afghanistan border. The city has a population of 16,319, and the remainder of the entire Dalbandin Tehsil has a population of 110,503. It is located at an altitude of 843 m (2769 ft). Dalbandin is famous for its fruit orchards. Dalbandin Airport is a small domestic airport located southwest of the city. Dalbandin city is surrounded by desert and mountains. An Afghan refugee camp is located on Dalbandin Chagai Road.
Sirajuddin Haqqani is an Afghan warlord who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting interior minister. He has been a deputy leader of the Taliban since 2015, and was additionally appointed to his ministerial role after the Taliban's victory over Western-backed forces in the 2001–2021 war. He has led the Haqqani network, a semi-autonomous paramilitary arm of the Taliban, since inheriting it from his father in 2018, and has primarily had military responsibilities within the Taliban.
Women's rights in Afghanistan have oscillated back and forth depending on the time period as well as the regime in power. After King Amanullah Khan's attempts to modernize the country in the 1920s, women officially gained equality under the 1964 Constitution. However, these rights were taken away in the 1990s through different temporary rulers such as the mujahideen and the Taliban during the Afghan civil war. During the first Taliban regime (1996–2001), women had very little to no freedom, specifically in terms of civil liberties. When the Taliban was overthrown by the United States following the 9/11 attacks, women's rights gradually improved under the presidential Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Women were de jure equal to men under the 2004 Constitution.
Emma Frances Heming Willis is a British and American model, actress and businesswoman.
The Republic of Afghanistan, which is an Islamic Republic under Sharia Law, allows for polygyny. Afghan men may take up to four wives, as Islam allows for such. A man must treat all of his wives equally; however, it has been reported that these regulations are rarely followed. While the Qur'an states that a man is allowed a maximum of four wives, there is an unspecified number of women allowed to be his 'concubines'. These women are considered unprotected and need a man as a guardian.
Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl is a former United States Army soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi was a Jordanian doctor and a triple agent suicide bomber loyal to Islamist extremists who carried out the Camp Chapman attack, a suicide attack against a CIA base near Khost, Afghanistan on 30 December 2009.
Ghazala Javed was a Pashtun playback singer from Swat Valley, Pakistan. She began singing since 2004 and was "popular with young, progressive ethnic Pashtuns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Her music was famous not only in Pakistan but also in neighbouring Afghanistan and among Pashtuns around the world.
Gulnaz is an Afghan woman and rape victim. She was raped by her cousin's husband in 2009 and became pregnant. She was then charged with zina, a crime in Afghanistan. She was initially sentenced to two years in jail, which was later raised to twelve, and she gave birth to a daughter in jail.
Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.
Sushmita Banerjee, also known as Sushmita Bandhopadhyay and Sayeda Kamala, was a writer and activist from India. Her works include the memoir Kabuliwalar Bangali Bou based on her experience of marrying an Afghan and her time in Afghanistan during Taliban rule. The story was used as the basis for the Bollywood film Escape from Taliban. She was killed at age 50 by suspected Taliban militants during the evening of 4 September or in the early morning hours of 5 September 2013, outside her home in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.
The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.
On February 1, 2008, American musician Britney Spears was involuntarily placed under a conservatorship by Judge Reva Goetz, with her father, James "Jamie" Spears, and attorney Andrew M. Wallet, as conservators. The conservatorship lasted until November 2021.
