Articles
OPINION: U.S. policies are punishing Afghan women and children
By Kelly Campbell. June 20, 2022. The Washington Post
Just because we don’t like the Taliban doesn’t make our collective punishment of Afghan women, children and the entire population of ordinary Afghans an acceptable policy.
9/11 Families and Others Call on Biden to Confront Afghan Humanitarian Crisis
By Murtaza Hussain. June 6, 2022. The Intercept
The United Nations now estimates that roughly half the population of Afghanistan is currently facing acute hunger.
Have the Afghan people been forgotten?
By Anees Aref. June 1, 2022. Responsible Statecraft
20 million are going hungry as frozen funds and equally frozen diplomacy keep this country in a frightening state of limbo.
Which Way Forward for Feminists Committed to Afghan Women’s Rights?
By Sunita Viswanath. April 20, 2022. The Nation
While the United States refuses to work with the Taliban, and NGOs follow suit, grassroots activists have no choice but to engage.
U.S. asset freezes worsen Afghan women's suffering
By Emma Farge. April 25, 2022. Reuters
The United States, as well as the Taliban authorities, is contributing to the suffering of women in Afghanistan through asset freezes, U.N. independent experts say.
Biden Hammers a $7 Billion Nail Into Afghanistan’s Coffin
By Cheryl Benard, Medea Benjamin and Masuda Sultan. Feb. 14, 2022. The National Interest
The president’s order diverting frozen funds to American families of 9/11 victims will only make the humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan worse.
Biden’s $7 billion Afghan heist
By Cheryl Benard, Medea Benjamin and Masuda Sultan. Feb. 14, 2022. Responsible Statecraft
The president’s order diverting frozen funds to American families of 9/11 victims will only make the humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan worse.
'Just give us our money': Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroad
By John O'Donnell, October 29, 2021. Reuters
Afghanistan’s Taliban government is pressing for the release of billions of dollars of central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis
Exclusive: World Bank backs using $280 mln in frozen aid funds for Afghanistan
By By Arshad Mohammed and Andrea Shalal December 1, 2021. Reuters
The World Bank’s board has backed transferring $280 million from a frozen trust fund to two aid agencies to help Afghanistan cope with a brewing humanitarian crisis after the U.S. withdrawal
'Just give us our money': Taliban push to unlock Afghan billions abroad
By John O'Donnell, October 29, 2021. Reuters
Afghanistan’s Taliban government is pressing for the release of billions of dollars of central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis
Exclusive: World Bank backs using $280 mln in frozen aid funds for Afghanistan
By By Arshad Mohammed and Andrea Shalal December 1, 2021. Reuters
The World Bank’s board has backed transferring $280 million from a frozen trust fund to two aid agencies to help Afghanistan cope with a brewing humanitarian crisis after the U.S. withdrawal
Anxious wait for Afghan girls as opening of high schools stalled
By Ali M Latifi, October 5, 2021. Al Jazeera
Masuda Sultan, an Afghan-American entrepreneur and activist who has also joined in the efforts to restart employment and education for women, said it is not just the girls who are heavily affected by the continued shutdown of secondary education for female students.
“More women are employed in education than any other sector in Afghanistan,” said Sultan.
World Bank works to redirect frozen funds to Afghanistan for humanitarian aid only -sources
By Jonathan Landay and Andrea Shalal, November 29, 2021. Reuters
The World Bank is finalizing a proposal to deliver up to $500 million from a frozen Afghanistan aid fund to humanitarian agencies, people familiar with the plans told Reuters, but it leaves out tens of thousands of public sector workers and remains complicated by U.S. sanctions.
Starving the Taliban — or the Afghan people?
By Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold, October 18, 2021. Responsible Statecraft
Last month, the International Monetary Fund approved a historic $650 billion allocation of Special Drawing Rights to help jump start the global economic system battered by COVID. The IMF earmarked $450 million of this for Afghanistan, a country whose economy is collapsing and desperately needs an infusion of funds (…)
Should the U.S. Want the Taliban to Succeed?
By Yaroslav Trofimov, November 12, 2021. WSJ
Keeping Afghanistan from becoming a humanitarian crisis and an exporter of terrorism may require making uncomfortable choices.
UNICEF calls on the Islamic Emirate to Reopen Schools
By Giti Rahimi , 17 October, 2021. Tolo News
According to UNICEF’s deputy head, currently, girls are allowed in five of 34 provinces across the country to attend the schools.
How Feminists Can Support Afghan Women Living Under the Taliban
By Medea Benjamin and Ariel Gold, October 13, 2021. Jacobin
When the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, it froze billions of dollars in Afghan assets, grinding many of the country’s most essential operations to a halt and spreading misery. The US government must release those funds.
As US freezes funds, a harsh winter awaits cash-strapped Afghans
By Ali M Latifi, October 29, 2021. Al Jazeera
Masuda Sultan, an Afghan-American entrepreneur who has worked with organizations trying to aid Afghanistan’s women, said it is imperative to get the international community to see the scale of the humanitarian crisis in the country, and that the cutbacks to funds are affecting teachers and healthcare workers, not so much the Taliban leadership.
“We should look for ways to get the help to them, no matter who their government is. We work with governments all over the world who we don’t agree with or like,” Sultan said.
U.N. agency to pay salaries of Afghan health-care workers to help stave off humanitarian crisis
By Karen DeYoung October 6, 2021. The Washington Post
As the abrupt cutoff of foreign funding since the Taliban takeover threatens economic collapse in Afghanistan, risking the lives of many of its citizens along with their livelihoods, a United Nations agency has come up with a way to keep at least some of the money flowing.
Women Activists to World Bank: 'Unfreeze' Funds to Pay Afghan Teachers, Health Workers
By Kenny Stancil, October 13, 2021. Common Dreams
As the World Bank held its annual meeting on Wednesday, women’s rights advocates gathered outside the powerful institution’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to demand the release of frozen Afghan funds so that teachers and healthcare workers trying to rebuild war-torn Afghanistan can be paid.
Videos
Podcasts
Masuda Sultan in Hunger crisis in Afghanistan – BBC Sounds