#afghan interpreter

[infohub27]

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (2023): A Gripping Tale of Brotherhood and Survival

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant (2023) — Director Guy Ritchie steers away from his well-known action-comedy spice-infused palette and weaves a heart-wrenching, edgy war drama of the story of two men (Jake Gyllenhaal & Dar Salim) who shared their boundless loyalty, camaraderie and survival; amidst the ravaged immoral wastelands of Afghanistan. It seems almost sacrilegious to commend a war film that depicts soldiers at their most human and more importantly, as brothers.    Read More…

[saywhat-politics]

CNN's Laura Coates speaks to the attorney of an Afghan man detained by ICE, who says he is seeking asylum after working for the US military as an interpreter in Afghanistan. The man says he is now wanted by the Taliban. DHS disputes the claim that the man assisted the US government.

[theweeklyshowwithjonstewart]

How Fuckface von Clownstick's Executive Orders Impact Afghan Visas with Jon Stewart & Shawn VanDiver

Jon Stewart and Shawn VanDiver of #AfghanEvac break down how Fuckface von Clownstick's latest executive orders could threaten the visas promised to Afghan allies, the same brave individuals who risked everything to support US troops. They discuss the ways you can help those left behind and how we can come together to protect them.

[languagexs]

Afghanistan Farsi Language: Exploring Dari and LanguageXS Solutions

Dari in Afghanistan: Unraveling the Tapestry of Afghan Persian In the heart of Central Asia lies Afghanistan, a land where ancient traditions and modern realities intertwine, and where language serves as both a mirror and a map of the nation’s rich cultural landscape. At the center of this linguistic mosaic is Dari, one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Pashto. This article…

[darkmaga-returns]

An Afghan migrant confessed yesterday in court to anally raping a 13-year-old boy from the French village of Croisilles, saying he committed the act as “revenge” against France for denying his asylum claim. In the case, he confessed to raping a homeless woman in the same village.

The village became well known in the media for establishing a reception center for migrants.

Zalakahan S., the Afghan in the case, made the confession in Paris during a separate murder trial he is facing for an incident from 2022 in which he reportedly tried to stab a tourist in the neck.

Zalakahan S. said he watched the boy play football, stole his cellphone, and then brutally sodomized the victim.

At the trial, Zalakahan S. admitted to raping the boy through an interpreter, as he does not speak French. He also said he “hates Europe.”

[curtwilde]

Taliban has announced that women in Afghanistan will be stoned to death in public for adultery.

The Afghan Taliban’s supreme leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, has issued a disturbing proclamation, vowing to implement brutal punishments against women in public. In a chilling voice message broadcasted on state television, Akhundzada directly addressed Western officials, dismissing concerns about violating women’s rights by stoning them to death.

"You say it’s a violation of women’s rights when we stone them to death," Akhundzada stated. "But we will soon implement the punishment for adultery. We will flog women in public. We will stone them to death in public," he declared, marking his most severe rhetoric since the Taliban seized control of Kabul in August 2021.

These grim statements, purportedly from Akhundzada, who has seldom been seen in public except for a few outdated portraits, emanate from Afghanistan’s state TV, now under Taliban control. Akhundzada is believed to be located in southern Kandahar, the Taliban's stronghold. Despite early assurances of a more moderate regime, the Taliban swiftly reverted to harsh public penalties reminiscent of their previous rule in the late 1990s, including public executions and floggings. The United Nations has vehemently criticised these actions, urging the Taliban to cease such practices.

In his message, Akhundzada asserted that the women's rights advocated by the international community contradicted the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. Akhundzada emphasised resilience among Taliban fighters, urging them to oppose women's rights persistently. "I told the Mujahedin that we tell the Westerners that we fought against you for 20 years and we will fight 20 and even more years against you," he stated.

His remarks have sparked outrage among Afghans, with many calling for increased international pressure on the Taliban.

"The money that they receive from the international community as humanitarian aid is just feeding them against women," lamented Tala, a former civil servant from Kabul.

"As a woman, I don’t feel safe and secure in Afghanistan. Each morning starts with a barrage of notices and orders imposing restrictions and stringent rules on women, stripping away even the smallest joys and extinguishing hope for a brighter future," she added.

"We, the women, are living in prison," Tala emphasised, "And the Taliban are making it smaller for us every passing day."

Taliban authorities have also barred 330,000 girls from returning to secondary school for the third consecutive year. University doors were closed to women in December 2022 and participation in the workforce is heavily restricted.

[nyc-pizza-rat]

like. thinking about the opposite of that one post of mine where dean is in love but doesn't say it. dean is in love but doesn't know it. which is a point of contention ik, but I'm not posing it as an interpretation, I'm posing it as a fic idea, don't @ me. anyway.

i like to think about it. dean moving out, after the ending. and he gets himself a little one story ranch style fixer upper. and he rebuilds it. and he is careful with how he does that, he is careful with how he fills it with the things he thinks his family will like. he builds cas a room, too, because he wants cas to live with him, but it's not the same room as his. for some reason. and he doesn't like his room. he keeps changing things in it, moving furniture around, adding posters and prints, and decor, and it's always just slightly to the left of perfect, for some reason. always something missing, and he doesn't know what. it makes him itchy though. so he doesn't sleep there. when he's working on the house, when there's no one staying over, he sleeps in cas' room. that bed will never get slept on anyway. man is an angel.

sorry. got distracted. anyway. he has this house. and it's still in kansas, maybe even in lebanon, close enough to the bunker, but with *windows*, you know? he runs a little hunter garage from there. fixes up people's cars, let's them sleep a night or two, if they need it. feeds them. he woodworks. he paints. he bakes, a lot. reads. mans the phone lines. the usual old man hunter things, right? and this is like. into the future. he's turned a nice, round 50 kind of future. sometimes his brother lives with him, i think. sometimes he stays over at eileen's. often he stays over at eileen's. others pass through often enough, though. he's not lonely. he's not not lonely. he's the least lonely when cas is around, and he's the most lonely when cas is around. he likes having cas around. they don't do anything, just sort of sit next to each other. talk. watch movies. go on drives. cas is good at all the things dean does, he's better at them than dean, but he is patient with him, too. he is proud of him, for some reason. dean basks in that. has learned to. but then at night, dean slinks off into his big, empty room and tosses and turns bc his room is stupid and he doesn't like it, and he always sleeps in cas' room but cas is there so he can't. best nights are when he falls asleep on the couch, when they're watching a movie late into the night. when he's too drunk to move and he sinks into cas' lap and pretends he doesn't remember it in the morning. it's just. well. it's just nice having another person with him, you know? it's nothing else, really. cas is an angel. cas has always watched over him. that warmth in his chest when he's with him is only natural.

anyway. ANYWAY. god. cas splits his time between earth and heaven. he is an angel, he likes being an angel, and he likes having responsibilities in heaven. it makes him feel like he's finally serving his purpose. but then time passes, and one day, cas realizes that the world is in something of an equilibrium. that there is not much to do in heaven anymore. that he is tired. jack will say, I think I want to go home. and cas will think about the house dean built and about the garage filled with *things* he makes and the kitchen where the oven is always on, the afghan on the couch he likes so much. he thinks about the smell of soap, and the dog that scratches the wood floors, baby and her purr. and he'll say, yes. okay. alright.

so they come home.

dean will think. god. thank god. he won't say it. he will say, are you sure? and of course. and good. that's good. he will take them around town, show them off to people who know everything about them already. and he will cook and he will laugh and he will drink, and too much, because he does that. he does that sometimes. a lot. almost always. but he won't talk about it — the way he feels grounded, like he is finally on steady earth. the way he feels like he can breathe.

jack will go, because he wants to do things, big things, strange things. human things. and dean's heart will do that thing that your heart is supposed to do when your kids don't need you anymore, and have lives of their own. but dean doesn't feel entitled to the feeling. still, he sets him up with a nice vintage, gives him cash, tells him, call, if you need anything. and, eyes up. don't be stupid. and, you can come home. anytime. you know that right? and then he lets him go.

there's always things to do, somehow. upkeep. some hunter stopping by. research. cas gets into it, too. sometimes cas goes out to help. he's still an angel, so that's easier for him. dean doesn't want to, but will go, when it feels like a hard case. when it feels like cas might get hurt. cas cannot get hurt. but dean's got that fear in his bones, that if he looks away, if he gets complacent, something will happen, and cas will disappear. so he goes. he gets hurt, sometimes. he makes cas angry, often. he doesn't mind either, to be honest.

life settles around them. in a few months, maybe. quick enough, either way. dean stops trying to sleep in his room, at some point. he passes out on the couch, in jack's bed, in the guest rooms downstairs. in baby. at some point cas sees this, and tells him to stop being stupid. so dean sleeps in cas' room, and cas sits at the desk, and they just sort of live like that.

anyway. cas goes off to visit jack or sth at some point. and dean gets not not lonely again. it's not that he has nothing to do, it's just weird. like how his room is weird. he manages, though. and when cas is supposed to come home, dean buys groceries and flowers and the good jelly from the farmer's market. he fires up the grill, makes burgers. acts like the house has guests coming over, like it's a party. and then cas shows up in a flurry of wings, and dean grins at him and he looks happy and tired and human enough, even if he isn't, and dean hugs him and his heart beats fast, and happy, and he thinks. oh. oh.

he pulls back and cups cas' face and cas leans into it, practised almost, covers his hands. and dean will feel like crying. he won't, but he'll want to. and he'll say, you know, right? and cas will say, of course. of course. and dean will kiss him, like that's just what they do. and cas will kiss him back. and then dean will say thank you. for waiting for me. and cas will say, i wasn't, not really. and (this is because dean has loved him, has been loving him, always. didn't really make cas wait, ykwim?)

and they'll eat and dean will bring cas into his room and sleep, happy and sound, and he'll laugh, in the morning, when the sun streams into the room and wakes him up, and everything is arranged in a mess but it's alright, it's good, he loves it anyway, because cas is there, next to him.

[beardedmrbean]

Amid many other global crises, the human rights situation in Afghanistan has been overshadowed in the international media. Millions of people continue to suffer from systemic rights violations under the Taliban-run government, a UN report has found.

Tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) monitors the human rights situation in the country, issuing regular reports. In its latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, UNAMA not only documented cases of gender-based violence and public floggings, but also the growing persecution of the Ismaili community.

Ismailism is a branch of Shia Islam, while Sunni Islam is the dominant religion in Afghanistan. Most members of the Ismaili community live in the country's northern provinces, such as Badakhshan or Baghlan. In the former, there have been at least 50 cases of members of the Ismaili community being forced to convert to the Sunni faith. Those who refused to do so were subjected to physical assaults, coercion and death threats.

"They are only accepted as Muslims if they profess the Sunni faith by force," Yaqub Yasna, a professor and member of the Afghan Ismaili community, told DW. Yasna himself was accused of blasphemy after the Taliban takeover of 2021 because he advocated enlightenment and tolerance in society. He was forced to step down from his position at his university and went into exile for fear of reprisals.

'Breeding ground for violence'

Yasna said that even before the Taliban's return to power, tolerance toward the Ismaili minority in Afghanistan was limited but that the political system had at least protected their civil rights.

He said that under the Taliban, tolerance had continued to decline steadily. "When their rights are violated today, they don't know who they can turn to. Their children are forced to profess the Sunni faith," he explained. "Under Taliban rule, only one faith is considered legitimate. Anything that deviates from their interpretation of Islam is rejected and thus creates a breeding ground for violence against religious minorities."

Afghan human rights activist Abdullah Ahmadi confirmed there was increasing pressure on one of the last remaining religious minorities in Afghanistan. "We have received several reports showing that children from the Ismaili community are being forced to attend Sunni-run religious schools. If they refuse to do so, or do not attend classes regularly, their families have to pay heavy fines," he said.

Ahmadi complained that the international community had responded only hesitantly to the human rights violations in his country. He called for targeted sanctions against Taliban officials, saying they "must be held accountable."

Nowruz holiday declared 'un-Islamic'

Historically, the country was a significant center of religious diversity, but there are very few members of non-Muslim communities left in Afghanistan today.

The last members of the Jewish community left the country in September 2021. Those Christians who still live there tend to practice their faith in secret. And the Hazaras, another ethnic minority in Afghanistan who are predominantly Shiite, continue to be persecuted.

The Taliban only accept one interpretation of religion and have banned certain rituals and festivals, including Nowruz, which marks the beginning of spring and a new year. They declared the holiday "un-Islamic" and said that nobody in Afghanistan should observe the celebration.

Women's rights in decline

The situation of all women is also getting worse, which means that half of society is subject to systematic oppression. According to the UNAMA report, girls continue to be "barred from participating in education beyond grade six" and there has been "no announcement made by the de facto authorities regarding the reopening of high schools and universities to girls and women."

In the western city of Herat, the Taliban has confiscated several rickshaws and warned drivers not to transport women who were unaccompanied by a "mahram," a close male relative.

Afghans deported from Pakistan, Iran

Despite this disastrous situation, Afghans who fled to neighboring countries are being expelled en masse. According to the United Nations, around 110,000 people, including women and children, were forced to return from Pakistan in April. Large numbers of people are also being deported from Iran.

"We live in fear of being deported to Afghanistan every day," Afghan journalist Marzia Rahimi told DW. "What am I supposed to do with my children there?"

Rahimi said that only misery and terror awaited her in Afghanistan if she returned, explaining that she had left because she was unable to continue working as a journalist under Taliban rule and would not have been able to provide her daughter with an education.

Most independent media outlets have been banned or placed under the control of the state. Journalists who criticize the regime risk being arrested and tortured.

Under the Taliban, the country has also been plunged into an even more catastrophic socioeconomic crisis. Some 64% of the population of 41.5 million lives in poverty, according to the UN, with 50% dependent on humanitarian aid for survival and 14% suffering from acute hunger.

[literary-illuminati]

2025 Book Review #1 - 20th Century Men by Deniz Camp, S. Morian and Igor Kordey

There’s an issue left before the next Saga hardcover is complete. Which means that, to hold to my dizzyingly over-complicated set of reading goals for the year, I needed a different comic for January. Thankfully, one thing I never lack for is a long list of things being recommended to me. The basic pitch of this seemed interesting enough to try, and I’m happy I did. A bit unfocused and meandering for its limited run time, a bit didactic in its narration, but overall quite an interesting read.

The comic is set in a 20th century afflicted with heroism – the aging supersoldier who won WW2 for the United States is finishing his third term as President, a genius with an artificial heart and a hulking mechsuit is single-handedly holding the Soviet war effort in Afghanistan together, the culmination of a centuries-long eugenics and indoctrination program is spending his twilight years cleaning up all the British Empire’s messes and burning all the bodies before he turns off the lights – you get the idea. The war in Afghanistan – and the way it’s inching ever closer to World War 3 as the American Dream orders more and more open intervention against the Soviets – is the focus. The story is told from the perspective of American and Soviet soldiers, politicians and journalists, and the Afghan civilians and soldiers they’re ostensibly fighting for.

This is a comic that was created in the aftermath of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and oh but you can tell. The human cost of wars of liberation and ‘nation-building’ and the sheer bloodlust involved in ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ is a recurring theme throughout, both in Afghanistan and in flashbacks and discussion of Vietnam. The story does not have anything hugely original to say here, but it says it clearly and with some artistic flair.

More broadly the book is about – well, as the title says. It’s a comic with superheroes, but it’s not a superhero comic – the various heroes are all through-a-mirror-darkly takes on one classic cape or another, but the story isn’t at all interested in interpreting them according to the logic or history of superhero stories. They’re here instead as larger-than-life stand-ins and representations of this or that historical force. Captain America is a man obsessed with reclaiming the righteous moral purity of fighting the nazis and also a rough amalgamation of Nixon and Reagan. The Hulk is a walking war crime who caused such an embarrassingly public bloodbath in Vietnam that the government locked him in a black site until deciding his services are once again needed in Vietnam. Superman is the incarnate faith and belief of the Soviet people in the force of History and the coming communist paradise.

A faith and belief that, over the course of the story, vanishes or wastes away or (according to the narrator’s favourite theory) grew so disappointed with humanity that he killed himself. Which is the thesis of the story in a nutshell, really – the modernist, universalizing ideologies and narratives of the 20th century have, by the end of the ‘80s, grown threadbare and too worn out to take seriously. All that remains is old soldiers fighting a war they can’t conceive of ever winning, brutalizing everyone they claim to be here to uplift and save. Which they do with world-shattering skill and strength – destroying all the other dreams and alternatives which might have sprouted out around them almost as an after-thought. I say you can tell it was written in the 2020s, but honestly if you told me this was some particularly cynical Gen-Xer writing in the ‘90s or 2000s I’d believe you too. It’s all very End of History (but a bad thing).

Themes aside – as a work of visual art this comic is...not gorgeous exactly, but striking. Impressionistic and almost painterly, committed to conveying huge amounts in a panel or two and happily discarding any pretense of ‘realistic’ representation of the action to achieve it. The character designs often feel like caricatures or political cartoons, and I believe this is entirely intentional and even works. It, frankly, carries most of the book on its shoulders. Not that the writing isn’t good and even clever (I quite liked the issue where the narration was all quotations from news/history/propaganda texts with wildly different slants), but with basic/replacement-rate art this would barely be worth a second look.

In terms of plot and pacing the comic – well, mainly it acts like it has many, many more than six issues to make its point. Extended subplots that take up most of an issue end up going nowhere, characters get screen-time and development entirely out of proportion with how important to the plot they are, and when you really look at it the unifying story hanging it all together is surprisingly thin. Which isn’t a crippling issue in this case, really – it’s very much a theme-first sort of story, and each issue is mostly its own contained thing with its own narrative beats – but reading it as a single work you can definitely feel it. It also does feel like something of a bait and switch, as the first couple issues are by far the most plot-focused and afterwards it gets only more contemplative, impressionistic, and political.

In terms of politics – the last issue is in its entirety essentially a lecture and morality tale. One that feels a bit like having its cake and eating it too – it’s slightly rich to complain about Afghanistan’s role in the western imagination as a brutal, remote ‘graveyard of empires’ rather than somewhere people actually live when you’ve spent the first five issues of the comic leaning into precisely the same tropes. But still, I am a fairly easy sell for works on such daring and careful arguments as ‘invading Afghanistan was a bad idea’ (even if the story gives itself the easiest possible time making it).

Overall, I’m glad I read it. Worth a look if you like comics but wish Watchmen had come out last year.

[vivipokedex]

I just discovered this blog and wow its really well done everything is super cool! I do wanna ask though, what was the thought process/inspiration for making the Gardevoir line insects? I like them but they're more far removed from the original Pokemon than you usually go so I was curious.

honestly for many of my interpretation of pokemon its based on an association i already had in my head, in which i see an existing creature or object and think of that pokemon. for example, when i see a white borzoi or afghan hound, i think, ohh, reshiram... when i see a small fuzzy dog whose eyes you cant see, i think, heehee, deino! of course, not all of them can be applied in this way (when i see a klm boeing 747, i think, ohh, thats latios!). and this makes it sound like i think about pokemon a lot--well, i do!

but in this case, when i see a green mantis, i think, oh, that's gardevoir. theyve simply always been somewhat mantis shaped in my mind, with some bird elements, especially owls, and white plume moths. the fun nature of insects is that theyve got all sorts of stuff going on. fur, plumes, hair, scale-like segments, appendages that imitate plants and other animals. you can really go crazy with them. which seems appropriate, since supposedly the whole idea of pokemon first originated from satoshi tajiri's interest in bugs.

thanks you for this question and im glad youre enjoying the art ^_^

[lost-carcosa]

Senior Taliban official hits out at own group’s policies towards women

Deputy foreign minister says ‘there is no excuse’ for shutting schools for girls and women

A senior Taliban official has called on the militant group to open schools for women and girls, a rare sign of internal divisions around one of the flagship policies of Afghanistan’s de facto rulers.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s acting deputy foreign minister, said the edict forbidding girls and women from schools was not in line with Sharia law as claimed.

“We request the leaders of the Islamic Emirate to open the doors of education,” he said, claiming that “there is no excuse for this and never will be”. “In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the doors of knowledge were open to both men and women,” the Taliban minister said at a Madrassa graduation ceremony in Khost province.

The 62-year-old UN-sanctioned official said his own leaders were “committing injustice against 20 million people”, referring to the women who make up roughly half of the Afghan population.

“We have deprived them of all their rights; they have no inheritance rights, no share in determining their husband’s rights, they are sacrificed in forced marriages, they are not allowed to study, they cannot go to mosques, the doors of universities and schools are closed to them, and they are not allowed in religious schools either,” the acting deputy foreign minister said.

After taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban pledged to govern the country based on a moderate interpretation of Sharia law, and to maintain many of the rights and freedoms enjoyed by women under the previous Western-backed government. Yet within months they had shut classes for girls beyond grade six, and colleges were closed to female students at the end of 2022. In some cases students were sent home at gun-point.

Mr Stanikzai led a team of negotiators at the Taliban’s political office in Doha before US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, and he has criticised the crackdown on girls’ education before. But his latest comments represent the first call for a change in policy and a direct appeal to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

The international community has cited the gender apartheid in Afghanistan as it has denied recognition to the Taliban regime, including in resolutions at the United Nations. Experts and human rights activists monitoring the situation in Afghanistan have said the ban will deeply affect the country’s female population.

The Taliban claims it plans to reopen schools and universities for women but has given no clear details of when or how it plans to do so. Meanwhile, a number of the Taliban’s senior leaders are reported to have sent their children to school overseas.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Michael Sainato at The Guardian:

Foreign workers at US government-backed media outlets being cut by the Trump administration say they face deportation to their home countries, where some risk imprisonment or death at the hands of authoritarian governments.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to defund the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency that oversees the Voice of America (VoA), the US’s largest and oldest international broadcaster, and provides grants to Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe and other news agencies. Staff have been placed on administrative leave and contractors have been fired. The agency had around 3,500 employees with an annual budget of $886m in 2024. “We have many coworkers in different services, several of whom came here and sought asylum visas. If their own government knew they worked for RFA [Radio Free Asia] and they went back to their own country, their lives would be at risk,” Jaewoo Park, a journalist for RFA, who was placed on administrative leave along with all of his coworkers, told the Guardian. “Authoritarian governments have praised what Trump is doing right now,” Park said. “In Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, there were people who fought for freedom and democracy, and they came to work at RFA. It’s very risky for them. Their lives are in danger if Radio Free Asia doesn’t exist.” Chinese and Russian state media have praised the cuts of the news agencies, with a Russian broadcaster calling the cuts a “holiday” for Russian state media outlets. The shuttering of the agency was unexpected and has caused chaos for Park and others. “My wife is 28 weeks pregnant and we’re very concerned because I might go back to South Korea because I’m on a working visa. My wife is almost due and we just bought a home last year,” he added. “It’s very concerning and depressing.” But the impact of the decision will be felt globally, said Park. He cited Radio Free Asia’s broadcasts to North Korea which, he noted, defectors from North Korea have cited as an important source of independent news.

“We know North Korea is a very oppressed country. They cannot hear anything other than the government press,” he said. Workers at Voice of America have also pointed out the risks and dangers posed to some employees on visas who may have to return to their home countries now their positions are in jeopardy. Two contributors for VoA are currently imprisoned in Myanmar and Vietnam and four contributors to Radio Free Asia are currently imprisoned in Vietnam. Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan also reportedly have journalists affiliated with the news agencies currently imprisoned. “Dozens of VoA staffers in Washington are on J-1 visas [non-immigrant visas meant to encourage cultural exchange], and if they lose them, they may have to return to countries whose governments have a record of jailing critics,” wrote Liam Scott in the Columbia Journalism Review, a VoA journalist who was notified their contract would be terminated on 31 March. “Two Russian contractors on J-1 visas who are set to be officially terminated at the end of March are considered at significant risk of being imprisoned if they return to Russia, according to a VoA staffer with knowledge of the situation.” Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian journalist, shared in a post on X that he was tortured for writing for Radio Liberty after being told it was an “enemy” of Russia. “Now, the ‘enemy of Russia’ is being destroyed by America itself, and my torture seems doubly in vain,” he wrote.

A VOA employee who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, told the Guardian: “Screwing over the people who worked for them and helped them, reminds me of what happened to Afghan interpreters.” Following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Afghan interpreters for the US military were left behind, stranded and in danger while trying to obtain special visas to escape to the US.

The shuttering of the USAGM (and Voice Of America its other affiliates) by Traitor 47 will could lead to disastrous consequences for its reporters, especially if they are forced back to their home nations where press freedoms are nonexistent.

[coochiequeens]

Ladies, please speak up about this. And how Begum TV is still around to offer programs for women

Taliban Suspend Women's Radio Station In Afghanistan

The Taliban information ministry said the station had been suspended for "multiple violations", in the latest search by the government of local media outlets in Afghanistan.

Agence France-Presse

World News

Feb 05, 2025 07:08 am IST

Published OnFeb 05, 2025 07:08 am IST

Many radio stations in Afghanistan have ceased broadcasting women's voices.

Kabul:

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities raided well-known women's radio station Radio Begum on Tuesday, arresting two employees, the broadcaster said, calling for the speedy release of its staff.

The Taliban information ministry said the station had been suspended for "multiple violations", in the latest search by the government of local media outlets in Afghanistan.

"Officers from the General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) assisted by representatives of the Ministry of Information and Culture raided today Begum's compound in Kabul," a statement from the radio station said.

The broadcaster said Taliban authorities searched the office, seizing computers, hard drives and phones, and detaining two male employees "who do not hold any senior management position".

It said it would not provide further comment, fearing for the security of the detained employees, and asked that the authorities "take care of our colleagues and release them as soon as possible".

The Taliban information ministry said the station had been suspended, in a statement on social media site X.

"Besides multiple violations, it was providing materials and programmes to a TV station based abroad," it said.

"Due to the violation of the broadcasting policy and improper use of the license (from the ministry), the radio station was suspended today so that the related documents can be carefully evaluated and the final decision can be taken," it added.

Radio Begum said it has never been involved in any political activity and was "committed to serving the Afghan people and more specifically the Afghan women".

- Media shuttered -

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), posting on X, demanded "the ban be lifted immediately".

The freedom of information watchdog says the Taliban authorities closed at least 12 media outlets in 2024.

Radio Begum was founded on March 8, International Women's Day, 2021, five months before the Taliban swept to power, ousting the US-backed government and implementing a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

The Taliban authorities have imposed broad restrictions on women, squeezing them out of public life with rules the United Nations has labelled "gender apartheid".

Women have been barred from secondary school and university as well as squeezed from certain types of work.

The few women who still appear on TV channels are covered except for their eyes and hands. Many radio stations have ceased broadcasting women's voices.

Radio Begum station staff have broadcast programming for women, by women, including educational shows, book readings and call-in counselling.

In 2024, Radio Begum's Swiss-Afghan founder Hamida Aman also launched a satellite television station, Begum TV, broadcasting educational programmes from Paris to help Afghan girls and women continue their education.

Thousands of videos covering the Afghan national curriculum have also been uploaded on a sister website, available for free.

The suspension of Radio Begum is the latest such action against local media in Afghanistan.

In December last year, Taliban authorities shut down Afghan station Arezo TV and detained seven employees.

The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (PVPV) accused the channel of betraying Islamic values and being supported by media based outside the country, which have been heavily restricted and criticised by the Taliban authorities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

[atheistcartoons]

Islam for Beginners II: Hijab Confab

The Koran instructs Muslim women to be modest in their dress partly to publicly identify with Islam and partly to avoid sexual assault. Since AD 630, we have come to understand that the sexual assault of women is not caused by how sexy they look but by male control issues. Human rights groups and feminists universally advise that placing responsibility on the prospective victim is a counter-productive approach to reducing sexual assaults. The Koran seems to acknowledge this in part when it instructs men in particular to "lower their gaze and guard their chastity".

If the object of Islamic modesty is to protect women, it’s not working. Sexual harassment is prevalent in the Muslim world, even in Mecca during the Hajj. The modesty rules of Islam do nothing to stop sexual harassment of women and sometimes make things worse. 

In fact, there is almost a directly proportional relationship between a country’s legal dress codes and women’s rights. While women should feel free to wear whatever they like, freedom means nothing if governments punish women for not wearing particular items for supernatural reasons.  

A quick tour of Afghanistan

The black burqa is not, and never has been, a part of traditional Afghan culture. It is a recent imposition by Islamic fundamentalists on the women of Afghanistan. Of course, some women insist that they are honouring their Islamic values by following the hijab rules but the Koran says nothing at all about burqas. It only mentions the khimar (veil) and the jilbab (dress).

The Taliban’s “strict interpretation of Sharia” seeks not only to control women but to eliminate the feminine anywhere it cannot be directly controlled by a man. In 2022, the Taliban ordered women to wear the burqa or “stay at home”. Later that year, the Taliban banned women from universities.

Any explanation for the compulsory burqa which involves serving the interests of women is repudiated by the fact that the Taliban “have institutionalised oppression against women” at every level of society.

A quick tour of Iran

In 1936, the fascist government of Iran led by the Shah passed a law called Kashf-e hijab banning all Islamic veils. This was part of a larger effort to Westernise the country. Women were beaten, their headscarves and chadors torn off and their homes were forcibly searched.

In 1983, the theocratic government of Iran led by the Ayatollah made Islamic veils mandatory for all women. Women who violate the law can be jailed or fined for appearing in public without the hijab.

Two patriarchal Iranian governments managed to come to completely opposite conclusions about the hijab while uniformly removing the agency of Iranian women.

A 2020 survey, in line with previous surveys, showed that 72% of the population opposed the compulsory hijab. This figure must include some hijabis. This September, after the morality police beat a woman to death, many Iranian women from all sections of society risked their lives to protest. Demonstrations are ongoing. In response, the government has assured protestors they are “working” on whether the law needs to change.

Any explanation for the compulsory hijab which involves serving the interests of women is repudiated by the fact that the women in Iran “continue to be treated as second class citizens”. 

Oppressive or empowering?

For many women who live where not wearing the hijab has serious political or social consequences, the hijab will be a symbol of oppression and violence. In these places, the correct response for those of us interested in freedom and justice is to support women who choose not to wear the hijab.

In Iran, the law mentioned above states that women “who appear in public places and roads without wearing an Islamic hijab, shall be sentenced to ten days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine of fifty thousand to five hundred Rials.”

For many women who live where wearing the hijab has serious political or social consequences, the hijab will be a symbol of defiance and empowerment. In these places, the correct response for those of us interested in freedom and justice is to support women who choose to wear the hijab.

In India, for instance, earlier this year, women were refused entry to their classrooms because they were wearing hijabs. Groups of men often harass and intimidate women in the street for how they choose to dress by chasing them and screaming Hindutva (Hindu fascism) slogans. In this video which went viral in the Muslim world, one very brave girl is reduced to screaming “Allahu Akbar” to defend herself against a Hindutva mob. There is a political context here that matters. The relationship of India with its Muslim population could be summarised as a series of massacres.

It’s otiose to pretend there’s no context to anything and if some ex-Muslim (and Muslim) women understandably hate the hijab, then it must necessarily be always stupid and dangerous or if some Muslim women embrace the hijab, then it must necessarily be always amazing and empowering. The intersection of religion and politics is never that simple.

[fictionfromthevoid]

One-shot | ACD! Sherlock Holmes - Late Night Labwork

Fandom: ACD Sherlock Holmes (original stories)

Characters: Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson

Relationship: QPR (queerplatonic relationship), but you can interpret this one-shot however you want to.

Warnings: Mention of War, Bombs, gunshots and death; mention of PTSD

A/N: Inspired by these tags I saw under this post.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of gunshots roared through the hot Afghan air. My comrades, one after the other, went down. Hit by bullets and other projectiles. Bombs were exploding around me. The air was filled with horrible screams as young men were shredded into pieces by shrapnel. Ducked down in the trench, I tried my best to shoot as many enemies as possible, trying to ignore the unbelievable suffering around me, but I knew it was hopeless. They were too many. We were all going to die.

*Clink*

Suddenly everything was quiet. I shot up in what I later realised was my bed. Adrenaline and Cortisol rushed through my bloodstream. Chest heaving and covered in cold sweat I had no idea what was going on or where I was there was only one thing on my mind.

'Danger' I was in danger. 'I need to survive'

I jumped to my feet and examined my surroundings. It was dark, I could barely make out a thing. Slowly the realization crept in. I was in my bedroom, at Baker Street. The war was over, at least for me. I was at home.

Letting out a sigh of relief I dropped back down onto the edge of my bed. Head in my hands and blood rushing in my ears I tried to calm myself down but as soon as I closed my eyes I was back in that trench in Afghanistan.

I desperately longed for Holmes's presence. I didn't necessarily need to talk about this, I just needed him to be there. Simply sitting in the same room as him, while he smoked his pipe, or tinkered with some experiment would be enough to soothe my tormented soul.

But it was the middle of the night, Holmes was probably asleep and I couldn't possibly bring myself to just knock on his bedroom door, wake him up and ask him to... - well pointlessly sit in the living room with me. Tears leaked from my eyes and dropped to the floor below me when -

*Clink*

There was the sound that woke me, again. It came from the living room. 'Is someone in there? Are we being robbed?' Panic threatened to seize my body a second time tonight.

*Clink* *clink* *clink*

No, that was the sound of glass clinking. Holmes! No doubt engaged in some chemical experiment. It wasn't unusual for him to be up in the middle of the night doing research or, very much to my annoyance, playing the violin, shooting the walls or whatever other shenanigans he could come up with. These unusual habits of his were often the subject of my anger or mockery, but that night, I was eternally grateful for them.

I slipped into my dressing gown and made my way to the living room. Upon my entrance, Holmes looked up from his lab equipment and gave me an apologetic smile.

"Ah dear fellow, so sorry to wake you"

"Nonsense. My dream was ... not pleasant" I answered although he had undoubtedly deduced that by now from my constitution.

"I see", he nodded. "Then perhaps you might assist me with this experiment? An extra pair of hands would be most welcome."

I gladly accepted the offer and he got up to get me a chair and a glass of water. I emptied it in one go and so my friend went back to the kitchen and this time brought the whole jug which he placed on the table among his various other chemicals. Pouring me another glass he eyed me carefully.

I can only imagine how I must have looked at that moment. Face covered and hair soaked in cold sweat with hands shaking so much that I could barely hold the glass of water without spilling it all.

However, he didn't say a word and neither did I. Trying to find excuses for my appearance would have been pointless. He had seen me like this countless times before.

Summoned to my bedside by my screams of terror, frantically shaking me awake, ripping me from the nightmare and sitting with me in the light of a candle until the gruesome images in my mind faded.

Still, with a tilt of his head and an expectant rise of his eyebrow, Holmes silently asked me if I wanted to talk. When I shook my head his attention returned to his chemicals.

He assigned me to stir various mixtures and monitor the temperature of numerous boiling liquids. All things where I wouldn't have to hold and therefore couldn't break anything. Tasks suitable for my trembling hands.

We took to work in silence. Holmes' presence keeping me anchored to reality and distracting me from the horrid images still vividly present in my brain.

Sitting here in our living room, next to Holmes working on an experiment I didn't understand a thing about, had exactly the soothing effect on my frayed nerves I hoped it would.

Slowly the shadows lifted from my soul. I could finally breathe again without that terrible feeling of constriction in my chest. Soon my heart rate returned back to normal and the cold sweat on my body began to dry. When my friend noticed, I was getting chilly in the process he wordlessly got up, fetched a blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

Wrapped up cosily, I adjusted the flame of a bunsen burner heating an to me unknown liquid in a vial.

In moments like this, I was beyond grateful to have Holmes by my side. I knew that I could have talked to him, anytime, had I wanted to. He wouldn't necessarily have been the best with comforting words, but he would have listened and he would have understood. But I didn't need to. This was enough.

We sat together in silence even long after the experiment was finished. Holmes in his usual armchair and me on the sofa. He tinkered with his pipe, absentmindedly plucked his violin or simply sat there lost in thought, while I soaked in, the calming atmosphere of 221B and the company of my friend.

Nonetheless, he kept a close eye on me. I noticed his glances, assessing whether I was reasonably alright and if I had everything I needed. Occasionally, I flashed him reassuring smiles to indicate that I was indeed feeling better.

A warm fuzzy feeling had found its way into my chest. Coexisting with the heightened anxiety that still lingered from my nightmare. And when the first beams of sunlight finally illuminated our little home again even the last shadows lifted from my mind.

Holmes noticing my improved mood got up from his chair. "I think I will make us some tea. What do you think Watson?" I nodded in approval.

"Holmes" I called out just before he was out of the door of the living room, "Thank you".

My friend answered with a knowing nod and a gentle smile and with that, he left the living room.

[gyllenhaalstories]

JOHN KINLEY DRABBLE

trope: one bed

warnings: army/military, death, funerals, storm. 18+ NO MINORS.

word count: 800

photo credit: iheartjake / divider credits: @/firefly-graphics

notes: thank you to @sizzlingcloudmentality for the spin the wheel activity and for encouraging me to post my results as actual little drabbles. 🥰 thank you for reading & REMEMBER TO REBLOG!

I'm going full sad mode here, but funerals. He's back in America, funerals are held for one of the many men who died under his authority. You're in the family of the deceased guy. John wants to keep it low profile, he wants the focus to be on the man they're celebrating both the life and death of not on the war-hero-but-kind-of-not-heroic-at-all who helped one afghan interpreter to get a better life. So he sits towards the back of the church, next to you in fact. You don't talk, it's as if he doesn't acknowledge your presence at all until you hand him your small packet of tissues because you noticed he cried. The funerals end, everyone gathers in the cemetery of endless white graves for all of the other fallen soldiers. Except the sky gets dark and heavy, the clouds gather and soon enough rain pours and lightning strikes. Everyone rushes to the nearest restaurants or malls or hotels, for a place to stay dry until the storm passes.

You both end up in the lobby of the same hotel, soaked to the bone from the rain. Phones keep ringing, the computers' system crash from such high demand, the new and modified reservations keep coming in. The hotel manager is trying to calm everyone down and accommodate as best as they can. John, who had already gotten a room, spots you in the crowd. You look distressed. He goes up to you, you tell him you don't know how you can drive home in the rain. He's almost offended you're even considering the option of driving in such weather and put yourself in danger. He offers you to use his room, you can dry up with towels or take a hot shower until the storm passes. Except it doesn't pass. Now, not only are you stuck away from home but you're stuck in a hotel room with a total stranger.

Eventually, night falls and John insists that you get some rest so you can drive home tomorrow. The room only has one bed, not a big one at that either. There aren't enough blankets and pillows to sleep on the ground. John insists he can take the floor if you'd prefer, if it makes you feel safer. He doesn't mind. He's slept on worse surfaces than carpet. That's when you inquire about him. John Kinley. As in the Master Sergeant John Kinley? Yes. You feel a bit safer, if he went so far to protect his interpreter, you assumed he was not a bad guy. You both surrender and share the bed, using a decorative pillow as a separation for your peace of mind. He insists he does not move when he sleeps, but he understands you need the mental barrier. You both fall asleep, things seem to go smoothly.

Except, you shiver. The cold rain had gotten to you. You shiver and John cannot sleep oddly enough. John has slept in worse conditions, the loudest noises or the worst smells someone can think of. He has slept surrounded by cadavres after a mission that left him stranded and waiting to be picked up. He's slept through it all (except the emotional turmoil left by Ahmed's uncertain destiny but you don't need to know that) but you shivering and shaking uncontrollably keeps him up. He scoots closer and closer to you on the bed. You just don't stop. You don't even seem to notice your body is shaking. He puts the decorative pillow between your head and the headboard so you don't hurt yourself. He scoots even closer until his broad chest presses against your back. Warmth is warmth, whether it comes from a fireplace or a body, it does the job.

He coos at you when you stir in your sleep, noticing his presence, he whispers he just wants you to calm down. You're too tired to hesitate, you're too tired to tell him you'll be okay. He rubs your arm, hoping the friction helps your body to warm up and allows you to drift to sleep. He presses more against you, you can feel his warm skin through your clothes. He feels like a radiator. He stays right here with you until you fall asleep again. You eventually do... John falls asleep too. Holding you, spooning you, keeping you safe. Neither of you move that night.

John wakes up first, his body conditioned to wake up at ungodly hours. It takes a moment to process the presence of a stranger in his bed. As much as a person he cuddled to sleep can be a stranger. You snore softly, sleeping soundly. He takes a few deep breaths and he feels his eyelids getting heavier. A little longer won't hurt. Holding you a little closer won't hurt either.