Almost 34 years ago, on this day — February 15th, 1989 — the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan. As we mark this anniversary, I take a moment to reflect on the lessons learned from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which may provide insights into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. — In 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan with about 115,000 soldiers, my father was in his twenties and joined the Jihad against the godless communists. One day, along with a group of the newly formed mujahideen, he went to a couple of villages down the valley to fight the…

I will tell you, but first, let me bore you with how I got to the medium. — I knew nothing about medium.com until March 25, 2021. The week before, in a perplexing move, the US-backed government attacked a Hazara anti-Taliban commander in Behsood, Maidan Wardak province, Afghanistan, killing more than 30 civilians. This was perplexing because both commander Alipoor and the government of Ashraf Ghani were fighting…

Following the August 15, 2021, takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban banned girls from higher education, but private tuition centers remained open until last December when the Taliban’s total ban on women’s education came. Rukhshana Media published accounts of severe mistreatment of girls by the Taliban morality police at the private education centers, some of which are as follows. — Written by Shirin Yousefi, translated by Rustam Seerat

My story on how I learned to read and write and how I buried my books when the Taliban took over Afghanistan for the 2nd time. — My father and uncles were bi-sawad, a Persian word for illiterate, meaning they could not read or write. They inherited it from their father, my grandfather, and great-grandfather. Traditionally sawad (literacy) was seen as a male thing; naturally, no females in our family were literate. But interestingly, it was a…

Reyhane Bayani* authored this review for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat. — In 2010, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi’s novel, Nashad (Unhappy) was published by Taak Publications in Kabul. It’s a continuation of his long story, Az Yad Raftan (Forgotten), which recounts a day in the life of Mirak Shah Agha and ends the day after he hears about al-Qaeda’s attacks on the United…

Farhad Hussain authored this review for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat. — In 2022, “The Islamic Emirate and Its System” was published in Afghanistan. The 600-page book was written by Abdul Hakim Haqqani, the Taliban’s chief justice, after being by approved Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s supreme leader. Originally published in Arabic, it has been translated into Farsi-Dari by Mohammad Saleh Mosleh.

Shahab Ariaiy* authored this report for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat. — Women in Qamargul’s remote village warned her against using opium for her pregnancy-related back pain. But with no health centre near her difficult-to-access home, the 22-year-old felt she had no choice but to use opium to dull her pain. The mud house in which Qamargul* lives with her husband and…

Matin Mehrab and Azada authored this report for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat. — Massoud* was a relapsed drug addict, who would spend his days picking through trash for soda bottles, cans, and plastic which he could sell to buy heroin when the Taliban forced him into rehab. The 35-year-old was rounded up with five other addicts in downtown Herat as part of the…

Gholam-Hossein Elham authored this report for the Zan Times in Persian, and it was translated into English by Rustam Seerat. — Mahbooba Mohammadi’s escape from the Taliban was so epic that it evokes the “Seven Trials of Rostam.” Originally from Mazar-e-Sharif, she was 20 years old when she joined the army in the spring of 2016. Lacking connections or sponsors to help advance her career, she ended up in the active…