‘Her face was beaten in’: how Taliban rule ushered in a new era of women being killed

Inside the deadly collapse of maternity care in Afghanistan 

Afghanistan's healthcare system is in a catastrophic decline, where clinic closures, staffing shortages, and international aid cuts are causing a preventable surge in maternal and neonatal deaths.

‘When she turns eight they will take her’: rising number of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

Child marriage is not new to south Asia. While the practice across the region had been declining, however, the Taliban takeover has reversed that trend in Afghanistan, and turned it into outright regression. Shabnam*, a midwife in Afghanistan, says: “Since the new government came to power, the number of child mothers has increased dramatically. In the past, perhaps only two child mothers visited the hospital each month, most of whom were from illiterate families. But now, both literate and illiterate families marry off their daughters at a young age.”