The National Resistance Front said on Friday it attacked a Taliban checkpoint in Badakhshan’s Yaftal-e Payin district, wounding three Taliban members. Local sources confirmed clashes had taken place.
In a statement, NRF said the attack took place at about 11 pm on Thursday, September 10, targeting a checkpoint in the Danishabad area.
The group said the fighting lasted about 40 minutes and that none of its forces were harmed.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the attack.
In recent months, Yaftal-e Payin district in Badakhshan was briefly taken over by forces opposed to the Taliban for several hours.
In recent weeks, attacks and clashes involving anti-Taliban groups have increased in several provinces, particularly Badakhshan.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid previously dismissed reports of recent clashes in Badakhshan as “media propaganda”. He said the country had been “liberated through the sacrifices of fighters and the loss of lives”, adding that the Taliban would make “twice as many sacrifices” to preserve it.
Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, says there is no justification for violence against women or for violating their dignity.
Al-Issa made the remarks on September 8 at the international conference “The Role of Religious Leaders in Combating Violence Against Women” in Jeddah. He said religious leaders should respond with evidence and detail to accusations made about Islam’s treatment of women.
The Muslim World League secretary-general called for cooperation among Islamic jurists to prepare a comprehensive scholarly work on women’s issues and translate it into several languages. He said: “There is neither legitimacy nor immunity for violence that violates a woman’s physical or moral dignity.”
Al-Issa added that justifying violence in the name of Sharia or attributing it to Islam amounts to a false claim against God.
His comments come as women in many Muslim-majority countries continue to face social and economic restrictions. However, conditions differ from country to country, and some governments have introduced reforms in recent years aimed at increasing women’s participation in education and the labour market.
Afghanistan stands apart. It is now the only country in the world where secondary and university education for girls and women is formally banned, while women have also been pushed out of much of the workforce.
From Egypt to Pakistan: Women’s Limited Share of the Labour Market
Women’s participation in the labour market is one of the most important indicators of their economic position. In 2025, only about 19% to 20% of working-age women in the Middle East and North Africa were in the labour force, compared with more than 70% of men.
In South Asia, only around one-third of women participate in the labour market.
According to The Economist, women’s share of the workforce remains low in many Muslim-majority countries. Figures for 2025 showed women made up about 20% of the workforce in Egypt, 22% in Pakistan, 19% in Jordan, 16% in Iran and 13% in Iraq. In Afghanistan, the figure was only about 6.8%.
Low female participation is not caused by laws alone. Childcare responsibilities, a lack of safe transport, family pressure and traditional beliefs about women’s roles also prevent many women from entering the workforce.
Such attitudes continue to shape women’s lives in parts of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. In some societies, violence against women is also considered acceptable by sections of the population. In India, around 40% of women have said a husband is justified in beating his wife in certain circumstances. The figure is more than 40% in India and reaches about 70% in Mali.
The consequences are not only social. Excluding women from the workforce also carries a significant economic cost. The World Bank has estimated that removing barriers to women’s employment could increase income per person by about 20% in many countries.
Saudi Arabia: An Example of Rising Female Participation
A different trend is emerging in some Muslim-majority countries. Saudi Arabia is one of the most prominent examples. Women’s economic participation has risen rapidly in recent years, reaching about 34% in 2025.
The Economist said the issue ultimately goes beyond women’s clothing or freedom of movement. A more important measure is whether women are able to study, work, earn an income and make decisions about their own lives.
Afghanistan, by contrast, has moved in the opposite direction from much of the Muslim world. Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls. Girls are barred from formal education beyond sixth grade, while women are prohibited from attending universities.
According to UNICEF, more than 2.6 million Afghan girls have been deprived of secondary education since the Taliban returned to power. The United Nations has also estimated that about 3.8 million girls aged 7 to 18 are out of school.
The restrictions go beyond education. Women have also been excluded from large parts of the labour market, public life and social activities.
UN Women estimates that nearly 80% of young Afghan women are neither in education nor employment nor participating in skills-training programmes. The figure among young men is about 20%.
The restrictions also carry an economic cost. The United Nations has estimated that restrictions imposed on women between 2024 and 2026 cost Afghanistan’s economy about $920 million.
The bans have now extended to the health sector. Since December 2024, women have been barred from medical, nursing and midwifery education. UNICEF has warned that if the situation continues, Afghanistan could face a shortage of about 20,000 female teachers and more than 5,000 female health workers by 2030.
When a Taliban Official Calls Women ‘Deficient in Intellect’
Against this backdrop, remarks by some Taliban officials about women have repeatedly drawn criticism.
Abdullah Sarhadi, the Taliban governor of Jowzjan, recently described a woman seeking separation from her abusive husband as “foolish” and “deficient in intellect”. He had previously said that sending women to school would make them “miserable” and “immodest”.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has also said that women’s presence in government offices could lead to “corruption” and that the issue of women’s education still requires a “Sharia-based solution”.
REACH, a Geneva-based international humanitarian initiative specialising in humanitarian data collection and analysis, says 3.1 million people were displaced in Afghanistan last year due to economic pressures, food insecurity and natural disasters.
Poverty and a lack of financial resources, particularly among poor households and women, have also prevented people from leaving vulnerable areas.
According to the report, hundreds of thousands of people in Afghanistan were displaced in 2025 because of economic pressures, unemployment and natural disasters such as droughts, floods and earthquakes.
The report, published on Thursday, 10 July, said poverty and unemployment accounted for 85% of emergency and involuntary displacement among Afghan households, followed by lack of access to food and drought.
Severe flooding in eastern Afghanistan last year also caused deaths and financial losses.
REACH said continued livelihood crises and damage to infrastructure in areas of origin meant that 95% of displaced households had no short-term plans to return home.
Its findings showed that many families could not even afford the cost of moving to safer areas.
Taliban restrictions, including requirements for women to be accompanied by a mahram and limited access to mobile phones, have made emergency evacuations of women during natural disasters more difficult.
Nimroz province in south-western Afghanistan has the country’s highest displacement rate, at 15 per cent, with severe drought and the destruction of agricultural land cited as major causes.
According to the report, Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif and Jalalabad are among the main destinations for displaced people seeking to resettle.
REACH is an international humanitarian initiative that collects and analyses humanitarian data, conducts research and provides information on crises, conflict, natural disasters and displacement.
It shares its findings with humanitarian organisations and decision-makers to help them design and implement more effective and targeted responses.
According to the 2026 annual report on internal displacement, published earlier this year, around seven million people in Afghanistan were internally displaced last year as a result of prolonged conflict and natural disasters.
Anar Academy, a Germany-based NGO supporting Afghan girls’ education, has published a study showing that despite Taliban restrictions, some girls have turned to online learning and self-study.
The research, titled “Denied the Right to Learn”, was released to coincide with International Literacy Day on 8 September.
Anar Academy said the study was based on responses from more than 2,600 Afghan girls and young women. The responses were collected in the second half of March 2026, with most participants living inside Afghanistan.
About 96% of respondents were from 30 provinces of Afghanistan, while a number of participants living abroad also took part in the study.
The findings show that after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, many girls did not give up on education and instead sought alternative ways to continue learning.
About 42% of respondents said they had continued their education through private courses, language classes or skills training. Around 34% reported using online and digital learning, while nearly 27% said they had relied on self-study or studying at home.
By contrast, more than 17% said their education had either stopped for a period or faced serious disruption.
The study indicates that some Afghan girls have continued learning through alternative methods, but their education is often informal, inconsistent and disconnected from recognised academic pathways.
The report said online and private courses can help girls continue learning, but in many cases they do not lead to recognised qualifications, university admission or a consistent path towards further education.
Access to digital devices was also high among respondents. More than 95% said they had access to a smartphone or laptop. About 51% described the quality of their internet connection as good and nearly 40% as excellent. Anar Academy stressed, however, that these figures do not represent the situation of all girls in Afghanistan.
The study also found that interest in education remains high among girls. Many respondents said they wanted to complete school, attend university, find employment and achieve financial independence in the future.
Another section of the report examined the social and psychological effects of being deprived of education, saying prolonged absence from schools and universities can disrupt daily routines, reduce contact with classmates and increase concerns about the future. Anar Academy stressed, however, that the study was not designed to diagnose depression or anxiety and that its findings cannot be used to determine the prevalence of mental health conditions.
Benazir Poya, head of Anar Academy, said at the launch of the study that alternative forms of education should not replace formal schooling. She said informal education can preserve hope, but cannot restore girls’ right to education.
The research was presented on Tuesday, coinciding with International Literacy Day, during an online event hosted by the International Society for Human Rights in cooperation with Anar Academy. Education and human rights experts also discussed restrictions on Afghan girls’ education and their consequences.
Anar Academy was founded about two years ago in Cologne, Germany, with the aim of providing digital education to girls deprived of schooling in Afghanistan. According to the organisation, more than 2,000 students have so far participated in its educational programmes, while about 46 have successfully completed their courses and graduated.
After Pakistani medical authorities told Afghan students to leave the country, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said students without valid visas must depart, while visa extension requests are still being reviewed.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council on Tuesday issued a letter instructing Afghan medical and dental students in Pakistan to leave the country and return to Afghanistan.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said foreign students staying in the country without valid visas must leave Pakistan. However, he stressed that visa extension applications from Afghan students, including those studying medicine, were still being reviewed under existing policies and regulations.
The directive asks medical higher education institutions to complete administrative procedures for Afghan students, including issuing the necessary certificates and facilitating their return.
In practice, the decision also affects students who began their studies in Pakistan and are still completing medical or dental degrees.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council told Afghanistan International that the matter was sensitive and linked to national interests.
The council said all decisions in this regard would be made in accordance with applicable policies.
However, the spokesman did not specify which policy requires Afghan students already enrolled in medical and dental programmes to leave Pakistan.
He also did not explain the situation of students whose visa extension applications are still being processed.
Following the directive, some universities and medical institutions in Punjab have begun implementing the order.
The University of Health Sciences Lahore has issued an urgent letter instructing affiliated medical and dental institutions in Punjab to implement the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s directives.
King Edward Medical University has asked 22 Afghan students to complete administrative procedures for their departure.
Five of the students are women, and they range from first-year to final-year students. Seven are in their final year of medical studies.
Fatima Jinnah Medical University has also asked 21 Afghan female students to complete procedures related to their departure.
Some Afghan students say being forced to return could wipe out years of study and the money their families have spent on their education.
Female students have also said that, given the restrictions imposed on girls’ and women’s education in Afghanistan, returning would mean losing the opportunity to continue their university studies.
The students have urged Pakistani authorities to allow those already admitted to universities in Pakistan to complete their studies before returning home.
The Taliban embassy in Islamabad described the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s decision as the forced expulsion of students and called on Pakistani education authorities and international medical, educational and humanitarian organisations to defend their right to continue their studies.
According to a spokesman for the Taliban embassy, around 1,000 Afghan students are studying at educational institutions across Punjab, including about 400 medical students.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has not yet announced the exact number of Afghan medical and dental students across Pakistan.
The decision to expel Afghan students has also drawn criticism from some Pakistani political and civil figures.
Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, said it would be better on humanitarian grounds to allow the students to complete their studies and return to Afghanistan after graduation.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, also described the decision to expel Afghan medical students as shocking.
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov says strengthening security along Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan is a priority for Moscow’s defence and security policy.
He said Russia and Tajikistan maintain close military cooperation and that Russia’s military base in the country remains on alert to respond to external threats. Russia’s 201st Military Base is stationed in Tajikistan.
Speaking in Moscow on Tuesday, 8 September, at a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of Tajikistan’s independence, Belousov said that Russia is actively expanding collective security formats within the CSTO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the Commonwealth of Independent States, with particular attention to strengthening Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan.
Belousov also described Tajikistan as a strategic partner of Russia.
His remarks follow high-level coordination between the two countries.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit that Moscow was aware of Dushanbe’s concerns about developments in Afghanistan and that the two countries remained in close contact on security issues.
Tajikistan has in recent months warned of security threats along its roughly 1,300-kilometre border with Afghanistan.
Dushanbe’s concerns increased after several security incidents in border areas, including armed and drone attacks late last year in which several Chinese citizens and workers were killed or wounded. Tajik officials have linked the attackers to armed groups based in Afghanistan.
Since the Taliban returned to power, Moscow and Dushanbe have further strengthened their security cooperation, while Russia has repeatedly warned of the risk of instability and terrorist threats spreading from Afghanistan into Central Asia.
The Collective Security Treaty Organisation has also put forward a comprehensive programme to strengthen the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border and plans to provide military and technical equipment to improve Tajikistan’s border security capabilities.
