Sahar Fetrat was only 15 years old when she first picked up a camera. She used it to shoot a video for a school project. But soon she found it to be a powerful weapon against harassers.
Wars leave behind scars. Emotional ones. Physical ones. And for years, in Afghanistan, the physical ones were the ones surgeons fixed. But in the past couple of years, there’s been a boom in cosmetic surgery.
Fashion is powerful. It can be used as a political tool. It can be a statement about identity. It can also be healing. In Afghanistan, it is all of that and more.
In 2016, students at the American University in Kabul watched as gunmen opened fire on their school. More than a dozen people were killed and many more injured. But the attack didn't stop students from pursuing their dreams.
The Taliban forbids women to leave the house unless they are accompanied by a male relative. Feroza Mushtari, who was a teenager at the time of the Taliban takeover, defied that rule to save a pregnant woman's life.
The attacks, a week after 60 people were killed as they waited at a voter registration center in the city, underlined mounting insecurity despite repeated government pledges to tighten defenses.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a voter registration center in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, killing at least 52 people and wounding more than 100, in the most serious attack yet on preparations for elections scheduled for October.
A string of attacks in Afghanistan's capital has left Kabul residents on edge. Some have started carrying notes in their pockets that detail crucial information in case of an emergency: Name, age, blood type.
The US State Department has resumed non-lethal aid to the more moderate rebel groups in Syria. Along with food, medical supplies and communications equipment, the aid includes 43 Toyota pickup trucks. The BBC's Afghanistan correspondent David Loyn explains the value of pick-up trucks in war zones.
Matt Farwell served in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province in 2006 and 2007. He thinks that no matter who gets elected, it's not going to make that much of a difference for the Afghan people.
The Islamic holiday on Muharram fell on the same night as Halloween this year, which posed an interesting predicament for Afghani student Ali Shahidy: To mourn or to party?
A six year-old girl in a Kabul refugee camp who was going to be sold in marriage to pay off a debt to cover the cost of her mother's hospital care. But "an anonymous donor working through an American lawyer had paid the debt."
On Saturday Afghans will vote in the third election since the Taliban's fall. And, it will be the first presidential race there without Hamid Karzai on the ballot. With 11 candidates running, the race appears wide open.
Bilal Sarwary has been traveling around Afghanistan and capturing images we don't see in the news. There are school children in brightly colored outfits, a bird seller at the Kabul market and a farmer in Kundoz — everyday Afghans, not the terrorists or political leaders who dominate the headlines.
Wars leave behind scars. Emotional ones. Physical ones. And for years, in Afghanistan, the physical ones were the ones surgeons fixed. But in the past couple of years, there’s been a boom in cosmetic surgery.
Many Kabul residents aren't ready for a complete pullout of US troops next year. They're pinning their hopes on an Afghan-US security deal that Afghan elders will consider this week.
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Conflict & Justice
This one Toyota pickup truck is at the top of the shopping list for the Free Syrian Army — and the Taliban
PRI's The World
April 01, 2014
The US State Department has resumed non-lethal aid to the more moderate rebel groups in Syria. Along with food, medical supplies and communications equipment, the aid includes 43 Toyota pickup trucks. The BBC's Afghanistan correspondent David Loyn explains the value of pick-up trucks in war zones.
Global Politics
This is why a US veteran tries not to think about the upcoming Afghan elections
PRI's The World
April 02, 2014
Matt Farwell served in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province in 2006 and 2007. He thinks that no matter who gets elected, it's not going to make that much of a difference for the Afghan people.
Culture
An Afghan student chooses to celebrate Halloween during the somber Islamic holiday of Muharram
PRI's The World
November 03, 2014
The Islamic holiday on Muharram fell on the same night as Halloween this year, which posed an interesting predicament for Afghani student Ali Shahidy: To mourn or to party?
Lifestyle & Belief
How a Young Afghan Girl Almost Got Sold in Marriage to Pay Family's Debt
PRI's The World
April 01, 2013
A six year-old girl in a Kabul refugee camp who was going to be sold in marriage to pay off a debt to cover the cost of her mother's hospital care. But "an anonymous donor working through an American lawyer had paid the debt."
Global Politics
Despite violence, Afghans are more determined than ever to vote in the upcoming presidential elections
PRI's The World
April 02, 2014
Updated
On Saturday Afghans will vote in the third election since the Taliban's fall. And, it will be the first presidential race there without Hamid Karzai on the ballot. With 11 candidates running, the race appears wide open.
Conflict & Justice
How an Afghan Methadone Clinic is Fighting to Counter HIV
PRI's The World
June 08, 2011
HIV is spreading among Afghanistan's injection drug users, and a methadone clinic was recently opened in Kabul to help the problem.
Arts, Culture & Media
We don't usually see this side of Afghanistan
PRI's The World
February 19, 2014
Bilal Sarwary has been traveling around Afghanistan and capturing images we don't see in the news. There are school children in brightly colored outfits, a bird seller at the Kabul market and a farmer in Kundoz — everyday Afghans, not the terrorists or political leaders who dominate the headlines.
Untold Afghanistan
Changing your face to disguise your ethnicity? Maybe, for these Afghan women.
PRI's The World
September 13, 2018
Wars leave behind scars. Emotional ones. Physical ones. And for years, in Afghanistan, the physical ones were the ones surgeons fixed. But in the past couple of years, there’s been a boom in cosmetic surgery.
Global Politics
This young Afghan American is following news about the election in Afghanistan very closely
PRI's The World
April 04, 2014
As Afghans gear up to vote in the presidential election on Saturday, a young Afghan American is especially interested in how things turn out.
Global Politics
Many Afghans are keen to strike a deal to keep US troops in their country
PRI's The World
November 20, 2013
Many Kabul residents aren't ready for a complete pullout of US troops next year. They're pinning their hopes on an Afghan-US security deal that Afghan elders will consider this week.