When Hadia* and her small daughters boarded a boat off the Turkish coast, she hoped to give them a better future in Europe – far from the harsh restrictions of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. rukhshana.com/en/terror-at...

A woman’s hijab must cover her entire body, must not attract attention, must be a loose fit to hide the shape of her body, and must not be decorated or scented with perfume. It should also not resemble the clothing of men or non-Muslims.

Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code. rukhshana.com/en/two-kille...

At least one person died and another two were hospitalised in Afghanistan's Herat province on Tuesday after Taliban forces opened fire on protestors demonstrating against the detention of dozens of women and girls over the way they were dressed, according to local sources.

We spoke to two women who’ve experienced this at first hand, one the mother of a teenage girl committed to a marriage she does not want, the other a women seeking to divorce her abusive husband. rukhshana.com/en/a-jailed-...

🗣️ #WPSWednesday: “Instead of ensuring security & justice, the Taliban are occupied with issuing shameful misogynistic decrees & suppressing human freedoms.” @zahrajoya.bsky.social, Guardian & @rukhshanamedia.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Video posted on Instagram showed the organisers of her expedition speaking to a jubilant Ahmad on the phone from the summit. “Please call my mum!” she is heard shouting down the phone.

Reporting on Afghanistan has become incredibly difficult, but journalists need to urgently find ways to cover the Taliban’s campaign to erase the country’s women. rukhshana.com/en/internati...

Sign up for Rukhshana Media's monthly newsletter! Each month, you'll get all the latest coverage from our team of female reporters in Afghanistan and expert analysis from Editor-in-Chief Zahra Joya. Don’t miss it - sign up now: rukhshana.com/en/register/

Representatives of the Taliban in Herat met with YouTube channel managers on March 31 and told them women were banned from appearing in their shows, according to a well-informed source who spoke on condition of anonymity. rukhshana.com/en/taliban-y...

🔴 Reporting during gender apartheid in Afghanistan #ijf26 with @alexcrawfreports.bsky.social @amiefr.bsky.social @zahrajoya.bsky.social @meeraselva.bsky.social 🎥 Live & On Demand > www.journalismfestival.com/programme/20...

Conquering the streets’ – how one young Afghan woman keeps her Olympic cycling dream alive

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s spokesperson, said recently there were more than 20,000 religious schools operating across the country, providing religious instruction to more than two million people. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/how-a-pro...

Sabera is driven on by the memory of her father, who was killed by Taliban insurgents before the group returned to power in 2021. After his death, she said, she vowed not to remain silent in the face of the men who had taken him from her. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/silence-i...

Deeply grateful for your continued support and encouragement. Thank you to the wonderful team at the Thomson Foundation! ❤️ Happy International Women’s Day to all the amazing members of your team.

@zahrajoya.bsky.social told the APPG that ‘the system of gender apartheid in #Afghanistan’ means that ‘being a woman has become a structural crime’. She called on the #UK Government to hold the #Taliban accountable: ‘in this chaotic moment, we should not turn a blind eye to these issues’.

Golshah*, a 53-year-old single mother of five from Sar-e Pol province, told Rukhshana she sold all her jewellery and mortgaged her land so she could send her adult daughter to Iran to continue her studies in law.

Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, warned against a policy of tolerance towards the Taliban’s violations of the rights of women and girls while speaking at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In the ancient citadel that towers over the historic Afghan city of Herat, a group of women sits at a table, paintbrushes in hand and heavy in concentration. rukhshana.com/en/how-afgha...

The secret Afghan women’s book club defying the Taliban to read Orwell

They read not for entertainment but, as they put it, to understand life and the world around them. They call their group “women with books and imagination”. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/with-book...

Every winter, they risk being cut off by deep snow and unable to access the city for crucial medical services, trade and other essentials. Read more:https://rukhshana.com/en/digging-for-development-how-hazara-women-are-helping-to-build-a-road-for-their-community/

Residents say that around a third of the 300 people who have worked on the project to connect the central provinces of Daikundi, Uruzgan and Ghazni to the capital, Kabul, were women.

This morning we heard powerful testimonies from human rights defenders Rahima Mahmut, @zahrajoya.bsky.social and Olga Borisova on why end-to-end encryption is essential for safe, private communication. The UK government’s push for backdoors would put lives at risk. Their stories show why.

These are among the punishments laid out in a new criminal code that has been officially adopted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. rukhshana.com/en/how-the-t...

A young Afghan woman has been arrested by the Taliban’s morality police while secretly training girls in taekwondo. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/taliban-d...

A female journalist has been detained by Taliban intelligence forces in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz, sources close to her family said. rukhshana.com/en/taliban-a...

When the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan closed amid escalating tensions between the two neighbours, Somaya Nadari’s mother lost access to the treatment that had been keeping her alive. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/how-the-c...

Happy New Year! 2025 was a good year for me, even though the world remains in turmoil and the girls of Afghanistan are still denied their freedom. I hope 2026 will be a year of real change—a year when doors reopen, voices are heard, and girls return to education with dignity and hope.

Appearing on stage at the opening of his exhibition wearing a burqa, he declared: “Wherever a woman’s body is controlled, everyone’s freedom is in danger.” rukhshana.com/en/i-felt-su...

When Medina’s sister went into labour in November, her family took her to the main provincial hospital in Sar-e Pol. There, they were told she needed a caesarean section, but that no specialist was available to carry one out. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/afghanist...

Before the regime change, I worked as a teacher in a girls’ secondary school. I had a calm and modest life. My salary was not very high, but at least my children went to bed with full stomachs. rukhshana.com/en/from-teac...

Families would go there to worship, often bringing food to cook and eat together. A section of the mosque was dedicated women-only. Rukhshana Media sent a reporter to the shrine to investigate the reports. This is what he saw: rukhshana.com/en/you-shoul...

Alex Crawford explained the difficulties of reporting from the ground, with 90 percent of journalist visa applications being refused by the Taliban over the last four years. rukhshana.com/en/how-can-t...

“I was so terrified that I don’t even remember how I got out of his office. Afterwards, I swore to myself I would never go near that filthy man again, even if we die of hunger.”

This is our latest report on the issue of femicide in Afghanistan.

The lamps she produces are decorative, but they are also designed to operate reliably despite Afghanistan’s unstable power supply, working even in low-voltage conditions. Setara says they last longer than imported ones.

Since it was introduced last Wednesday, women seeking treatment have been turned away from hospitals because they weren’t wearing the burqa, while access to government services has also been affected, causing widespread distress and triggering protest. rukhshana.com/en/taliban-i...

Within hours Karishma, who was widowed three years ago, had appeared in court on unspecified charges and been sent to Kabul’s notorious Pul-e-Charkhi jail, Afghanistan’s largest high-security prison. Read more: rukhshana.com/en/go-with-l...

They say they are protecting our “honor,” our “values,” but let’s be honest — they are protecting their fear. They’re terrified of a woman who can think. Because once a woman begins to think, she begins to question. rukhshana.com/en/they-shou...

The Taliban held a press conference at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi on Sunday with female journalists present, two days after attracting a storm of criticism for reportedly turning women and foreign journalists away from a similar event. rukhshana.com/en/taliban-h...

I’m so proud and privileged to be part of this amazing college community! Thank you so much for your support ❤️

A hearing into the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan opened on Wednesday in the Spanish capital, seeking to amplify the voices of victims and hold the group accountable for human rights violations. rukhshana.com/en/peoples-t...

We're delighted to announce the appointment of Sarah Gibson as the new chair of the Rukhshana Media board of trustees. Sarah brings a wealth of experience in international journalism and is a committed advocate for equality and inclusion.1/3

Afghanistan was plunged into isolation on Monday as internet services were cut and mobile communications severely disrupted.

Then this month, the Afghan Education Ministry wrote to schools saying it was removing 51 subject headings from the curriculum, describing them as anti-Islamic.

That was until 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in her native Afghanistan. Now, the pool in Kabul where she used to swim is dry, the building abandoned and its doors bolted against the young women she once coached.

During the @Cam.ac.uk Alumni Festival, @ZahraJoya.bsky.social, Afghan Journalist & founder of @rukhshanamedia.bsky.social, & Laurie Bristow, former UK Ambassador to Afghanistan, will discuss why education is resistance in oppressive regimes. Details & booking: www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/about/events...

the group’s supreme leader had personally taken the decision to allow the removal of women’s photos from the cards on the advice of the Dar al-Ifta, or religious council. rukhshana.com/en/afghan-wo...

Most of the children she sees are moderately malnourished, the legacy of poverty and a series of droughts that have compounded the difficulties of life in a region known for its harsh climate. rukhshana.com/en/how-one-a...