How ‘Afghan’ coats left Kabul for the fashion world and became a hippie must-have
Tim Bonyhady, Australian National University The London launch of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in May 1967 was a musical and fashion landmark. While the clothes worn by all four Beatles startled the journalists and disc jockeys, John Lennon stole the show. He wore…
We must include more women in physics — it would help the whole of humanity
Cathy Foley, Office of the Chief Scientist; Prajval Shastri, and Sarah Maddison, Swinburne University of Technology All around the world, there is an extreme gender imbalance in physics, in both academia and industry. Examples are all too easy to find. In Burkina Faso’s largest university,…
Protecting education should be at the centre of peace negotiations in Afghanistan
Lauryn Oates, Royal Roads University and Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University The Taliban appeared to be walking away from peace talks with the Afghan government — until, at the end of May, they suddenly agreed to a proposed meeting in Istanbul. But they stipulated major constraints,…
‘Journalism is sacred work’: Afghanistan’s front line reporters
By Robyn Huang and Matt Reichel It was about 8am on a Monday morning in April 2018 when Bushra Seddique felt the multi-storey apartment building she was living in with her family in Kabul’s Shash Darak district shake. Smoke billowed from the street below. She barely had time to…
The Role Turkey Can Play in Afghanistan
Erdogan’s proposal to protect Kabul airport will require Turkey to reach separate agreements with the Afghan government and the Taliban. By Salim Cevik Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan caused waves at the NATO summit in June, announcing that Turkey would continue to protect Kabul airport following…
While US and Denmark are on their way out of Afghanistan, Islamic State is growing
By: Jonathan Tybjerg and Asad Kosha In the past year, a branch of Islamic State has carried out a number of significant attacks in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the United States, Denmark, and the rest of the Western coalition are on their way out of the country….
Afghanistan 2021 Is Not Afghanistan 1996. That Offers Hope for Peace
By Mirwais Wakil and Anthony Pahnke Many pundits, in their commentary on Afghanistan, are not doing their homework. While it is true that the Taliban have advanced in the country as the U.S. and its allies are in the process of withdrawing their forces, reality is complicated. The situation is…
China in a Post-US Afghanistan
Tridivesh Singh Maini China’s criticism of the US decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is likely due to a deterioration in security, which could negatively affect its investments and BRI-related projects. Background During his meeting with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani, US President Joe Biden referred…
The Afghan Peace Process: Talking to the Taliban
By: Deedar Khudaidad The prospect of a peaceful Afghanistan is only realistic if the Taliban breaks ties with other terrorist groups, agrees to a ceasefire and joins the intra-Afghan peace talks. The Afghan government has been calling for peace talks for many years, yet only…
Sri Lanka’s Persecuted Muslims Are Turning Radical
After decades of persecution by the Sinhalese and Tamils, Sri Lanka’s Muslims are abandoning local syncretic Islam and turning to a more radical version. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks across Sri Lanka. This raises many questions about the existence of…