Afghan Witness

Collecting, preserving and verifying information on human rights and security. Promoting information integrity. Protecting online participation through digital resilience.

Highlights

Nov 21

Afghan factions react to Trump victory with mixed expectations

Pro-Taliban accounts mock U.S. intervention hopes, while anti-Taliban groups see the election as a chance for renewed resistance.

Nov 21

Public execution in Paktia marks Taliban’s shift in showcasing Sharia enforcement

Media allowed to film outside the stadium as Haqqani ministers highlight both unity and an attempt at clemency.

Nov 21

Tensions flare as Ghor residents confront Taliban forces

Protests over house raids and counternarcotics efforts in Pasaband and Shahrak lead to shootings, arrests, and allegations of ethnic discrimination.

Nov 21

Urban warfare defines anti-Taliban resistance as AFF & NRF claim 294 attacks in 2024

Analysis highlights growing operational reach of NRF and AFF, with Kabul and northern provinces at the epicentre.

Featured

Nov 18

Land clearance in Kabul

Nov 5

Kabul: three attacks in three days highlight precarious security situation

Nov 5

Taliban implements ban on living beings in media

Nov 5

Taliban minister’s comments sparks outrage over “women’s voice ban”

Latest Articles

See all Articles

Afghanistan Taliban

Nov 18

Documenting demolitions: the Taliban’s land clearance campaign and its impact on marginalised communities

Since assuming power in August 2021, the Taliban have initiated a number of infrastructure projects in Kabul. But forced evictions and demolitions have seen ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities bear the brunt.

Afghanistan OSINT

Sep 2

Afghanistan’s shrinking information environment

What is the information environment, and what challenges face Afghanistan’s own information space? How can we strengthen it?

Women's rights Gender-based violence Afghanistan Taliban

Aug 14

Afghan Witness report reveals ‘daily occurrence’ of gender-based violence under Taliban rule as women suffer ‘systematic erasure’ from public life

Three years on from the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, women are banned from education, work and most other areas of public life.

Women's rights Afghanistan Taliban

Apr 21

Rising reports of femicide: new digital map documents cases of violence and repression of Afghan women in ‘public’ roles

Female-led newsroom Zan Times used investigative reporting and open source techniques to document killings, disappearances and arrests of Afghan women.

The Afghan Witness Map

Verified information is stored in a database and represented on the Afghan Witness Map with one simple goal: to provide the world with timely and reliable information concerning ongoing events in Afghanistan.

View the Map

Find out more

How to Use Our Map

The interactive Afghan Witness Map is a powerful tool for visualizing verified human rights abuses and security threats across Afghanistan.

Watch the video

In the Press

Hundreds of cases of femicide recorded in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover are ‘tip of the iceberg’

The Guardian , 15 August 2024

How the Taliban took over Afghanistan's mines

Financial Times, 26 June 2024

How the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s mines

The Financial Times, 26 June 2024

I went to secret schools during the first Taliban rule - how many more years will Afghan girls lose?

Euronews, 12 April 2024

Public executions and torture: ‘The Taliban have reverted to their true nature’

France 24 The Observers, 4 April 2024

Taliban carry out hundreds of floggings as grip tightens on Afghanistan

Financial Times, 30 November 2023

Online abuse of politically active Afghan women tripled after Taliban takeover, rights group reports

Associated Press, 20 November 2023

Women beheaded and bodies dumped in rivers under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, report says

Independent, 15 August 2023

No one feels safe': The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing

CNN, 19 May 2023

Mapping human rights abuses in Afghanistan

BBC News, 18 May 2023

The Taliban Have Turned Afghanistan Into a Graveyard of Women’s Rights

Foreign Policy, 8 March 2023

Afghaanse studentes vertellen: 'Ik werkte en studeerde maar plots was ik huisvrouw'

NOS, 12 February 2023

We aim to strengthen the information landscape and provide a reliable source of information for international organisations, policymakers and the media, and to raise awareness of the reality of everyday life for Afghans living in the country.

About Afghan Witness

Highlights

Afghan factions react to Trump victory with mixed expectations

Public execution in Paktia marks Taliban’s shift in showcasing Sharia enforcement

Tensions flare as Ghor residents confront Taliban forces

Urban warfare defines anti-Taliban resistance as AFF & NRF claim 294 attacks in 2024

Land clearance in Kabul

Kabul: three attacks in three days highlight precarious security situation

Taliban implements ban on living beings in media

Taliban minister’s comments sparks outrage over “women’s voice ban”

Latest Articles

Documenting demolitions: the Taliban’s land clearance campaign and its impact on marginalised communities

Afghanistan’s shrinking information environment

Afghan Witness report reveals ‘daily occurrence’ of gender-based violence under Taliban rule as women suffer ‘systematic erasure’ from public life

Rising reports of femicide: new digital map documents cases of violence and repression of Afghan women in ‘public’ roles

The Afghan Witness Map

View the Map

How to Use Our Map

In the Press

Hundreds of cases of femicide recorded in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover are ‘tip of the iceberg’

How the Taliban took over Afghanistan's mines

How the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s mines

I went to secret schools during the first Taliban rule - how many more years will Afghan girls lose?

Public executions and torture: ‘The Taliban have reverted to their true nature’

Taliban carry out hundreds of floggings as grip tightens on Afghanistan

Online abuse of politically active Afghan women tripled after Taliban takeover, rights group reports

Women beheaded and bodies dumped in rivers under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, report says

No one feels safe': The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing

Mapping human rights abuses in Afghanistan

The Taliban Have Turned Afghanistan Into a Graveyard of Women’s Rights

Afghaanse studentes vertellen: 'Ik werkte en studeerde maar plots was ik huisvrouw'

We aim to strengthen the information landscape and provide a reliable source of information for international organisations, policymakers and the media, and to raise awareness of the reality of everyday life for Afghans living in the country.

More Links