Society
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March 24, 2016Radio Azadi Names ‘Person Of The Year’
Afghan teacher and children’s education campaigner Andeisha Farid has been recognized by RFE/RL’s Afghan Service.
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March 23, 2016
Migrants See No Easy Way Out Of 'The Jungle'
One of the most notorious sites of Europe's migration crisis is the makeshift tent camp near the northern French city of Calais. The French government recently tried to close the so-called "Jungle" by offering alternative accommodation to those still waiting in vain for entry into Britain. It hasn't worked. (RFE/RL camera: Marek Hejduk)
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March 23, 2016
Hope Fades For Afghans Stuck At Border Camp
Thousands of people are stranded in Idomeni, Greece, at a makeshift camp by the Macedonian border, now closed to migrants. Among the residents are Afghan citizens who have little chance of receiving asylum in European countries. As they wait in limbo, they must contend with dire conditions at the camp, food shortages, and harassment by other groups. (Margot Buff, RFE/RL; Alexia Kalaitzi, camera)
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March 18, 2016
On Norouz In Afghanistan, 'Our Friends Are Not With Us'
Just before Norouz, the Persian New Year, residents of Kabul shared their hopes for peace in the coming year -- and their sadness over insecurity, poverty, and the emigration of loved ones. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
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March 16, 2016
Pakistani Girls Punch Through Glass Ceiling
In the tough Lyari ward of Karachi, Pakistan, these young girls are having fun and learning to defend themselves. Nine-year-old Arisha and 16-year-old Azmeena train at a boxing club after school. The club bucked social pressures last year to help the girls chase success, already earning them bouts in boxing tournaments.
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March 10, 2016
Determined To Leave Afghanistan, Even As Europe's Borders Close
Slovenia, Croatia, and Macedonia have closed their borders to migrants along a major land route toward the EU. Officials stated that only asylum seekers will be able to enter -- ruling out economic migrants from Afghanistan and elsewhere. But in the Afghan capital, Kabul, many young people are still preparing to leave for Europe, a decision they say is born out of desperation. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
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March 08, 2016
Pakistani 'Genghis Khan' Champions Women's Rights On The Squash Court
She is Pakistan's top female squash player with the ambition of one day becoming world champion. But Maria Toorpakai Wazir also wants to defeat discrimination against women in her country. She has already overcome incredible odds just to make it onto the squash court. Growing up in Waziristan, she had to pose as boy and defy Taliban threats to play the sport she loves. (RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal)
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March 03, 2016
Tajik Men 'Forced To Shave Beards'
The authorities in Tajikistan have denied launching a clampdown on beards -- despite numerous reports from men that they have been forced to shave by police. The reports come amid increasing concerns about Islamic extremism in the Central Asian country. (Mumin Ahmadi and Barot Yusufi, RFE/RL's Tajik Service)
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March 02, 2016
'They Don't Care About Us' -- Blind Girls In Pakistani Province Denounce Discrimination
Blind girls in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkwa Province say they are victims of discrimination and are being denied access to secondary education. After completing primary school, many blind female students are forced to drop out because there is no high school for them in the province. (RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal)
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February 29, 2016
Sold By His Parents, Given To The Taliban
Eleven-year-old Yahya's parents sold him to people-smugglers in Afghanistan for around $10,000. His captors then turned him over to the Taliban, who trained him to be a suicide bomber. Yahya had the courage to escape, but there are many other children like him who fall into traffickers' clutches. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)
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February 26, 2016
Oscar-Nominated Pakistani Filmmaker Talks About Battle To End 'Honor Killings'
The first Oscar winner in Pakistan's history is back in the Hollywood limelight this weekend as Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's unflinching new documentary about honor killings, A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness, competes for an Academy Award.
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February 24, 2016
Kyrgyz Islamic School Leaders Face Certification Process
The commission that oversees Islamic schools in Kyrgyzstan has begun a process that is expected to force most of the headmasters out of their jobs. The Religious Certification Commission has required that teachers and headmasters at the country's 101 madrasahs appear before an formal assessment panel. (RFE/RL's Kyrgyzstan Service)
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February 17, 2016
After Son's Death, Deportation, A Mother Mourns In Tajikistan
A 5-month-old baby boy, named Umarali, died while being held with his parents in Russian custody last October in St. Petersburg, where they were accused of violating migration rules.
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February 15, 2016
Thousands Defy Threats To Join Anti-Polio Drive In Pakistan
More than 100,000 health workers across Pakistan stepped up efforts to eliminate the polio virus from a country that is one of its last bastions despite continued threats to vaccination teams
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February 10, 2016
A New Wave Of Ethnic Russians Leaving Kazakhstan
RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports that during the first nine months of 2015, some 19,000 Russians left Kazakhstan to take advantage of the Russian government's program to resettle ethnic Russians still living in other former Soviet republics. And currently, there are long lines outside the Russian Embassy in Astana and the waiting list for an appointment for resettlement is months long.
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February 09, 2016
Afghan Domestic Violence Victim To Get New Nose In Turkey
An Afghan woman whose nose was cut off by her husband is in Turkey to undergo reconstructive surgery.
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February 04, 2016
Are Uzbek Schools Reviving A Soviet Term To Avoid Islamic Ones?
Why would a university in eastern Uzbekistan try to impose a Soviet-era term for its professors? And where might it stop?
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February 04, 2016
Tajik Name-Change Craze Targets Turkic Words
In his quest to see Persian-rooted names affixed to everything from towns and villages to historical sites and newborns, Tajikistan's president has turned to renaming locations with Turkic-based names.
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February 03, 2016
Securing Peshawar’s Schools
In the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, security forces are conducting exercises to train soldiers, students, and teachers on how to respond to a militant attack.
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January 26, 2016
Teacher Defies Threats To Bring Education To Pakistan's Poorest Kids
She is a teacher bringing education to some of Pakistan's most vulnerable children. Thousands of kids live in the slums of the country's capital, Islamabad, without any access to education. But one woman, Chand Bibi, is on a courageous mission to change that. (RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal)
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January 25, 2016
Afghan 'Dancing Boys' Tell Of Rape, Abuse
In Afghanistan, impoverished boys are being forced into a life of abuse as a result of bacha bazi – dancing boys – an old practice that sees wealthy or powerful men exploit underage boys as sexual partners. Although it is illegal, Afghan authorities have failed to put a stop to the practice. (Wali Sabawoon, Weda Baraki, and Frud Bezhan)
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January 21, 2016
Afghan Models Defy Threats To Take To Kabul Catwalks
A decade-and-a-half after the end of Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan still face pressure to dress conservatively in their Muslim-dominated society. That makes holding a fashion show with female models a risky endeavor. But some young women are making a fashion statement, defying threats and social taboos to take to the runway. (RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan)