In #Afghanistan, marriage is rarely a personal choice. In Panjshir, some girls refuse forced marriages by turning up at a man’s door and asking to marry him. It’s called shingari. This is the story of a young woman who said no and claimed her own future. 🔗 bit.ly/4agaTrQ

We begin the year with a review of Shabnam, a newly translated novel by Bengali author Mujtaba Ali - a lyrical novel set in the tumultuous period of the reign and overthrow of King Amanullah & rooted in Persian literary traditions of mysticism and epic love. #Afghanistan #Literature bit.ly/451wH7H

In 2025, the Emirate ordered books removed from bookstores and libraries in Afghanistan and set up a committee to ban texts deemed “incompatible” with official beliefs. bit.ly/4q2Zst2

Very sad to see that the Two Wheels Good bike shop in London N4 has closed. They've been helping me out since the mid-1990s, Jon and Paddy. Brilliant people: friendly, helpful and always had great music playing.

A single gunshot can change a life. In one part of #Afghanistan, the firing of a rifle outside a girl’s home became the public claim of her as someone’s wife—regardless of her wishes. @HamidPakte69477 hears her story. bit.ly/4ri3YEY

'Only' #14 in the rankings of most dangerous junction for cyclists in London, but Seven Sisters Rd-Blackstock Rd-Stroud Green Rd is so nasty, even at night, I cycle through Finsbury Park at night to avoid it, dangerous men being less of a threat. @londoncycling.bsky.social lcc.org.uk/campaigns/da...

So difficult to write a positive review, that doesn't gush but this is beautiful. Some lovely turns of phrase from @eleanorknight.bsky.social #Glyndebourne www.gramophone.co.uk/opera-now/re...

Please understand both that this is natural extension of the crimes committed at Gitmo for two decades, and also wildly, wildly illegal. This is not “complex” or “difficult” or related to security or defensible in any way.

bachtrack.com/22/296/view/28 I spent a dark and stormy night in Holland Park for @bachtrack.com

Deliberate starvation is a war crime. No one can say they were not told so. www.unocha.org/news/un-reli...

Eid Mubarak to all friends who've been fasting this last month.

Christians in #Syria are not being massacred. #Israel bombed churches in Gaza. Assad bombed synagogues, churches and mosques in Syria. Don't fall for propaganda like below.

On International Women's Day, we present a new dossier which brings together all our reports on women since just before the fall of the Republic and rise of the Emirate: education, work, dress, inheritance, child marriage... bit.ly/4bw3jIB

Given ICC charges on deliberate starvation of the civilian population, one would have to guess that international criminal law is not getting much traction with the lawyers giving advice. apnews.com/article/isra...

This is horrible. Medical staff is #NotATarget. #Israel #Palestine www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

'Polio Cases on the Increase in Afghanistan: How is the Emirate handling immunisation?' Available in English: www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/e... And Dari: www.afghanistan-analysts.org/dari-pashto/...

The IEA may have banned poppy cultivation, but #Afghan farmers have moved their cultivation to Pakistani Balochistan. They speak candidly farmers of dangerous journeys, bribes, spiralling land prices, and finding soil is variable and water scarce. www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/e...

After the Emirate banned #opium poppy cultivation in April 2022, some farmers moved to neighbouring Balochistan in #Pakistan to grow poppy there. AAN's @jb_AAN looks into how things have been going for them. bit.ly/4kmYsO6

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” — George Orwell

We want immigrants but not immigration. Interesting analysis from Peter Kellner www.bestforbritain.org/immigration_...

In March, we introduced new 50% concessions for Santander Cycles targeting seven groups of Londoners including veterans, apprentices, disabled people and people on income support. And we've seen over 20,000 new cyclists using this great offer. 🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲

🍉JEWISH BLOC TOMORROW🍉 Whilst our leaders refuse to openly condemn Trump's proposal for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza, Israeli state & settler violence continues to escalate in the West Bank. It's more important than ever to make our voices heard: end arms sales, end the occupation, end apartheid.

Trump has form on negotiating bad deals to end conflicts. After caving into Taleban demands to exclude the Afghan government from negotiations, he agreed the swift, virtually unconditional withdrawal of troops from #Afghanistan. #Ukraine www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/w...

"In one NGO director's bulk email, there was acknowledgement of colleagues’ past dedication, heartfelt thanks, recognition of the hardship they now faced, but the overall message was, of necessity, brutal: Most of you no longer have a job, nor a salary." bit.ly/4gBzzLs

One list of the initial impact of the USAID freeze on some UN agencies and larger NGOs mentions "the mass closure of healthcare facilities and cuts or closures to programmes helping IDPs, children and women-led organisations and de-mining..." bit.ly/4gBzzLs

US aid to Afghanistan is so large that Trump's order will have macroeconomic effects. It supports the afghani, lowering the price of imported goods – food, fuel medicine; funds wages, taxes, government revenues and spending, and ultimately, GDP. bit.ly/4gBzzLs

This from the man that has such a dislike of illegal immigrants…..fascist hypocrite?

The Emirate's reaction to the stop to USAID? Little said officially. The economic hit will be a problem: layoffs, downward pressure on GDP and tax, deepening poverty. But the weakening of #Afghan media, women’s and human rights groups will surely be welcome. bit.ly/4gBzzLs

US Secretary of State could have asked: Does stopping aid, triggering skyrocketing poverty and desperation in an already unstable part of the world, make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous? #Afghanistan bit.ly/4gBzzLs

Are you affected by the US foreign assistance suspension? We're writing a report - let us know what's happening to you. #USAID #ForeignAid #Afghanistan

Latest Daily on Monocle Radio. @clarkkate.bsky.social and @terrystiastny.bsky.social on the day's stuff, plus we meet the founder of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

We’re two weeks in, facing global trade wars and superpower sanctioned genocide in Palestine.

The Guantanamo Bay military commission is deciding the question of whether confessions obtained by torture and incommunicado detention are admissible

Is the Emirate ban on door-to-door polio vaccinations now pushing up case numbers? We hear from parents and experts desperately unhappy with the ban. Our new report: 'Polio Cases on the Increase in Afghanistan: How is the Emirate handling immunisation?' #Afghanistan bit.ly/4jJTE4K

The Islamic Emirate's decision to stop door-to-door #polio vaccination looks set to leave some #Afghan children unprotected from a disease which can cause infant paralysis: we hear from parents and experts. bit.ly/4jJTE4K

I joined protestors outside the RCJ today because our politicians continue not only to ignore the evidence of climate breakdown , but accelerate our species collapse with this obsession over growth above all else . No growth on a dead planet , solidarity with the #LordWalney16

Restrictions on women ripple through families and communities. When women are sidelined, everyone feels the strain. Martine van Bijlert delves into the effects of the restrictions on women as seen through the eyes of Afghan men. #Afghanistan bit.ly/4gd2buf

Hot off the press, the new issue of Middle East Report. Everything is open access. merip.org/magazine/313/

In #Afghanistan, the Emirate has pushed women out of the public sphere and given the state the authority to interfere in private lives. The rules have implications for men too and their views are critical to the lives of their female relatives. www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/themed-re...

Restrictions on women ripple through families and communities. When women are sidelined, everyone feels the strain. The Afghanistan Analysts Network delves into the effects of the restrictions on women as seen through the eyes of #Afghan men. bit.ly/4gd2buf

What a fascinating AAN report on what #Afghan men think of IEA restrictions on women and girls. The anguish at daughters and sisters are now shut out from education expressed by even the most pro-Taleban interviewees is one of the highlights. www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/themed-re...

@aanafgh.bsky.social's @rachelreid.bsky.social, Roxanna Shapour on the ICC arrest warrants. Usual detail and depth from the Afghanistan Analysts Network. www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/r...

What difference will Trump make to Afghanistan? Aid diplomacy, Guantanamo, prisoner swaps, accountability (hah!), foreign terrorist designations.. It's all here from @clarkkate.bsky.social explores for @aanafgh.bsky.social www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/i...