Gali Weiss
- Sep 29
Another Killing of a Pregnant Woman
My friend U has seen a report about the murder of a woman, for no clear reason, by a Taliban soldier. “On September 19, 2021, 35 year-old Narges, was killed by the Taliban in western Kabul. Narges' family says that she was 9 months pregnant and was to give birth within five days. Doctors have managed to save her newborn baby. Narges had six children and her husband says that Narges' killer is free. He has repeatedly called on Taliban leaders to arrest his wife's killer, but s
Gali Weiss
- Sep 29
Scenes of Hunger Crisis
A young woman in Kabul that I am in touch with has been inside her accomodation for months, not going out due to the danger she is likely to face. I asked her about the situation of food and money at this time. "With the fall of Afghanistan by the Taliban terrorist group, our people have lost their peace and are living in poverty and misery. The Taliban entered and seized Kabul within hours without a gunfight. Since that day, they have done nothing to calm people down or to i
Gali Weiss
- Sep 20
Visa for Life
Pakistani soldier (R, front) and an Afghan Taliban (L, front) stand guard on their respective sides at the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan (Photo: Xinhua) Visa for Life refers to the story of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania at the time of WWII, who saved thousands of Jewish refugees fleeing annihilation by the Nazis. He rescued them by issuing them transit visas through Japan. Sugihara’s story was so relatable to me three days
Gali Weiss
- Sep 13
Unreported News
Part of my intention for starting this blog was to keep attention on Afghanistan, particularly on the situation of women. I am now noticing that there are less media reports on what is happening in the country. While the Taliban government says its attitude towards women is not the same as it was 20 years ago – that they can continue to work and be educated, in line with Islamic law – violence by Taliban military towards women continues. My friend U has reported two incidents
Gali Weiss
- Sep 12
At the Lecture Hall
I received the following account from U, retelling what was circulating on social media recently in Afghanistan. "Yesterday, a number of female students of a government university declared their support for the Taliban and raised the Taliban flag. Several photos were posted on social media. But after a few hours, we heard that the Taliban had forced the students to come to the university lecture hall and that the Taliban themselves had given the women special clothes (Islamic
Gali Weiss
- Sep 10
Music Silenced
A few days ago I saw photos on Facebook of instruments destroyed by the Taliban at the National Institute of Music, Kabul. I immediately thought of H and her heartbreak. The Zohra female orchestra visited Australia in 2019. Music is such a life-giving force. I myself play the cello. It was upsetting to see these photos. This is H's telling: "I spent my entire childhood at an orphanage in Kabul and began studying music from grade four. For eight years, I studied Eastern classi
Gali Weiss
- Sep 10
The Sitar Player: Inspiring the Arts and Humanity
Donna Nassery, Afghan Girl Playing the Sitar 2021, oil painting, Paris Donna Nassery found H through Facebook. She was inspired to create this painting of her. "Moved by the performance and her smile, I decided to capture a moment from one of their performances in Davos (2017). As a musician myself, I resonated with her joy playing the sitar with others. I especially loved painting her colourful, traditional dress! Despite the rich cultural heritage of the country, historical
Gali Weiss
- Sep 7
return of University Classes
This photograph has been circulating in media sources worldwide. It shows Avicenna University, a private university in Kabul, with a partition between male and female students as new conditions were set in the classroom on 6 September, 2021. Private universities are starting classes again, but differently to the period before the Taliban takeover. U tells me that the Taliban have ordered all private and public universities to partition the female and male classrooms or separ
Gali Weiss
- Sep 7
In Memory of Banu Negar
My friend U is still in hiding. She has moved with her family at least five times in the past month, fearful of being targeted for her activist work. Yesterday morning, in my attempt to keep her spirits up, I told her that the night before I had been listening to Global Village on PBS radio when I heard an Afghan singer and then realised the whole program was devoted to music from Afghanistan. "Another example of how much you are in people's hearts here," I texted. U replied,
Gali Weiss
- Sep 5
Fawzia Koofi: Why should women always be the first to pay?
Fawzia Koofi, the first female Deputy Speaker of Parliament in Afghanistan, was interviewed by Dorsa Jabbari for Al Jazeera, 4 September, 2021 Fawzia Koofi began her political career after the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Her focus: promoting girls’ rights to education and protecting children from violence, exploitation and abuse. She has survived assassination attempts, but not even that stopped her from advocating for the rights of women in her country.Now, with the Taliban
Gali Weiss
- Aug 31
What's On? TV in Afghanistan
Life in Kabul is very limited now. My friend and her family are inside all the time, the only safe place for them to be. My friend's three year old daughter has no access to open spaces for walking or playing outside the house. There is television. But what kind of television? "Yesterday, the Taliban announced on the official page of Information and Culture that TVs will no longer have the right to broadcast women's voices and music. But after a few hours, they removed the an