Thousands of families have been forced to leave their homes in Afghanistan over the past few months as fighting between the Taliban and Afghan security forces intensified.

Afghanistan

women in training

This Afghan female fighter fought with US troops. Now, she’s readjusting to life in the US.

Conflict & Justice

Over the course of two years, Sima shares her struggle to make a life in the US in the podcast “Stranger Becomes Neighbor.” The evacuation from Afghanistan is just the beginning of a story that is still developing.

Two girls holding paper signs that say "Education is our right"

Afghan student struggles with adjusting to life in the US

Women providing services within a beauty salon

‘We are dead inside:’ Women in Afghanistan protest Taliban ban of beauty salons

Afghanistan
wall with women's faces marked out

Women in Afghanistan are devastated by the Taliban’s ban on beauty salons

Afghanistan
Students sit at the 2023 graduation ceremony inside the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. 

Afghan students in Central Asia set their sights on the US

Afghanistan
women with signs

After Taliban ban, women NGO workers in Afghanistan struggle to make ends meet

Afghanistan

​​​​​​​Last December, in yet another blow to women’s rights in Afghanistan, the Taliban announced a ban on women working for nongovernmental organizations. Thousands of women lost their jobs overnight. The months since have been some of the most difficult for them.

man at podium

Afghans who fled to the US hope that Congress will fix their status 

Immigration

After Afghanistan fell to the Taliban almost two years ago in August, tens of thousands of Afghans made their way to the United States. They were allowed to stay under a program called “humanitarian parole.” But that status expires in a couple of months, and although they can renew one time, many are calling for Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow them to seek more permanent status.

Three families from Afghanistan prepare to board a boat in Necocli, Colombia, that will take them towards the border with Panama.

Afghan families traverse most of Latin America to seek asylum at the US border

Immigration

The US government changed the rules governing how people can seek asylum at the US-Mexico border last week, as a pandemic-era policy called Title 42 expired. Although it may become more difficult, thousands of people are still making their way from South America to the US border, including migrants from all over the world. Some are making their way through the Darien Gap, a dangerous jungle that separates Colombia and Panama.

staff in lobby area

Prominent Afghan news organization reports on life under Taliban rule from Maryland 

Afghanistan

The investigative newspaper Etilaatroz opened a new newsroom in an office building in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC.

US Special Envoy Rina Amiri addresses the 16th annual International Women of Courage (IWOC) Awards virtual ceremony at the State Department, Monday, March 14, 2022, in Washington. 

US special envoy: Taliban ‘puts women’s right at peril everywhere’

Afghanistan

With continued violations of women’s rights in Afghanistan, US Special Envoy Rina Amiri tells The World’s host Marco Werman that not normalizing the Taliban government is crucial to fighting hardline elements in the country, and for setting a precedent in other places.