Unregulated Pharmacies Pose Health Risks in Afghan Province
Region: Afghanistan
Authorities have little control over chemists’ shops in Uruzgan, undermining faith in the health sector. By Ajmal Wesa Khair Mohammad may not be a qualified doctor, but he offers a wide range of treatments to whoever will pay. On a blanket laid out beside a road in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province, the self-appointed pharmacist sells cures for everything from acne and depre... more
Views: 961Afghanistan: Local Uprisings Against the Taleban
Region: AfghanistanLocals fight back after losing patience with militants’ hard-line approach. By Mina Habib - Afghanistan ARR Issue 436, Villagers in various parts of Afghanistan have staged localised uprisings against the Taleban in an apparent rejection of the insurgents’ inc... more
Views: 1615Afghanistan: Taliban Blamed for Shocking Public Execution
Region: Afghanistan
By Omid Bidar In early July, an Afghan woman was executed [1] publicly in a small village in the Parwan province, about an hour's drive from the capital Kabul. The 22-year-old woman was reportedly killed after two local Taliban strongmen - both claiming that they had had some kind of relationship with her - accused her of adultery. An amateur video [2] [Warning: Graphic] of the execution, obtained by Re... more
Views: 2300Pakistan Responsible for Cross-Border Attacks Afghans Say
Region: AfghanistanOfficial claims more than 800 rockets land in eastern Kunar province in recent weeks. By Hafizullah Gardesh Tensions are building along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Kabul threatening to refer Islamabad to the United Nations Security Council if rocket attacks into the eastern Kunar province do not stop. Wasefullah Wasefi, spokesman for the pr... more
Views: 1426Afghanistan: University Poll Sparks Controversy
Region: AfghanistanBalkh governor demands legal action after NGO survey reveals criticism of teaching standards. By Qayum Babak An opinion poll has sparked controversy by revealing criticism of lecturers at northern Afghanistan’s Balkh University, and the provincial governor has called for those behind the survey to be prosecuted. The Civil Society and Human Rights Network, a coalition of... more
Views: 1112Afghanistan: "I Was Not Born a Slave"
Region: AfghanistanIWPR investigation reveals children trapped in unending bonded labour to pay off loans. By Sayed Samiullah Sayidi I was not born a slave,” Mirwali said. “I’ve been held hostage with two of my older brothers at the Hazrat-e Belal brick factory… for the past two years.” Just 14 years old, Mirwali is one of around 6,000 minors forced into servitude at ... more
Views: 971Healthcare Crisis in Central Afghan District
Region: AfghanistanIn one area of Uruzgan province, two doctors are supposed to look after tens of thousands of people. By Ahmad Shah Jawad With health professionals and medicines in short supply, falling ill in rural Afghanistan is always bad news. But it is a particular problem in Uruzgan province’s Dehrawud district, which has just two doctors to provide for tens... more
Views: 1079Iran: Turning a Page on Racism Against Afghans
Region: AfghanistanWritten byFred Petrossian Several bloggers expressed their disgust at learning that Afghans living in Isfahan, Iran were banned from a park by the authorities on April 1, 2012, the 13th day of Nowruz New Year celebrations. It is customary to mark this day by spending the day outdoors picnicking. Although an official in Isfahan denied [fa] that Afghans had been targeted, a Facebook event was c... more
Views: 1125IWPR Film Applauded in Kabul
Region: AfghanistanThe Forgotten Victims hailed as a step forward towards transitional justice in Afghanistan. By Mina Habib An IWPR documentary on war crimes committed in Afghanistan over two decades received a rapturous welcome from foreign diplomats, Afghan media workers and civil society activists at a screening in Kabul last week. The Forgotten Victims, which covers the period from just before the 1979 Soviet invasion a... more
Views: 930Afghanistan: The Ghost Teachers of Ghor
Region: AfghanistanMillions of dollars spent on staff who don’t turn up for work. By Mohammad Hassan Hakimi Hayatollah is supposed to be teaching history and geography for grades six to nine at the Kahrezak Secondary School, located 60 kilometres from Chaghcharan, the provincial centre of Ghor province in central Afghanistan . But when asked to... more
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