Zan Times

We are working to keep the world informed about the worst women’s rights crisis of our time and its impact on 20 million women and girls in Afghanistan. The recent funding freeze by the U.S. has affected us. We need your support to continue our work and document Taliban crimes.…

Iran has forcibly deported over 717K Afghan refugees since March 2025, with the total for the year exceeding 1 million. For returnees crossing the border into AFG is not a homecoming, it is another descent into uncertainty. Many arrived with no money, no food & no shelter.

Over a dozen people who spoke with Zan Times described a process in which physical violence, humiliation and denial of food or medical care were commonplace. This story is published in collaboration with @himalistan zantimes.com/2025/07/18/dep…

The Iranian officers said, “We can come up with a thousand reasons to keep you and punish you.” Even though we knew there was nothing incriminating on our devices, as the officers said, “Being Afghan is reason enough.” zantimes.com/2025/07/17/the…

Thousands of Afghan refugee women face an uncertain future after returning from Iran. Shakila, 24 and pregnant, fears for the fate of the daughter she is carrying—a daughter who may be deprived of the right to education and work.

The Iranian state has deliberately refused to integrate Afghan refugees. Instead, it has invisibilized them. Denied visibility, denied recognition, denied voice, they are erased from public life. zantimes.com/2025/07/10/sca…

Afghan refugee: We’ve been humiliated so much in Iran

Recognizing the Taliban without the establishment of an inclusive government, without acknowledging women’s rights, and without broad international coordination would amount to a unilateral act that risks escalating global power competition on AFG’s soil. zantimes.com/2025/07/08/rus…

Sahar, a widow from Baghlan, had lived in Iran for more than a decade. She ran a small tailoring workshop, had put a deposit down on a home, and was raising five children alone. Now, she’s homeless in her home country. 1/5 zantimes.com/2025/07/07/ira…

Sana Atef, a Zan Times journalist reporting from southern Afghanistan, has been named one of five recipients of the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) Courage in Journalism Award for 2025. Read the full newsletter here: us9.forward-to-friend.com/forward/previe…

Since nuclear weapons entered the global battlefield, every nuclear-armed state has felt “insured” against foreign aggression. Even isolated North Korea, protected by its missiles and warheads, has created a separate reality—ignoring international law.. zantimes.com/fa/2025/07/02/…

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Discrimination against Afghan refugees pours from every wall in Iran as hatred toward Afghans has worsened in recent days. Most Iranians now openly call for the unconditional expulsion of Afghans. zantimes.com/2025/07/01/war…

The IWMF is thrilled to announce the winners of our 2025 Courage in Journalism Awards! Our 2025 honorees are: Sana Atef, Juliana Dal Piva (@julianadalpiva), Yousra Elbagir (@YousraElbagir), Maritza Félix (@MaritzaLFelix) and Aynur Elgunesh. Read more here: ow.ly/1FBt50WiJBe

Today is a day of pride, a day to celebrate my colleague Sana, who has risked her life to report from the heart of the Taliban’s gender apartheid. Thank you @IWMF for recognizing her courage and dedication. At @ZanTimes we are honoured to be working with her.