Turmoil in Afghanistan

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
Afghanistan faces severe food crisis compounded by politics, economics, and natural disasters, hitting vulnerable populations hard ⤵️

🗣️ ‘Afghanistan is a crisis where the most vulnerable women and children cannot access the food that is on the market’

Philippe Kropf, WFP’s head of communications in Afghanistan, speaks to Anadolu http://v.aa.com.tr/3163229

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacifi...crisis/3163229

In Afghanistan, women and children bearing worst of hunger crisis

- ‘Afghanistan is a crisis where the most vulnerable women and children cannot access the food that is on the market,’ WFP official Philippe Kropf tells Anadolu

- Food security situation has improved since Taliban retook power in 2021, but economic challenges, funding cuts and climate change have left country ‘at risk of losing all the gains,’ says Kropf

ISTANBUL

Afghanistan is one of several countries around the world in the grip of a food crisis, where a mix of politics, economics and nature’s ravages are taking a heavy toll on vast sections of a vulnerable population.

In a country emerging from decades of war and turmoil, women and children are among those particularly impacted by biting food insecurity, according to the UN’s World Food Program (WFP).

“Some of the most affected by the hunger crisis at the moment are women and girls,” Philippe Kropf, WFP’s head of communications in Afghanistan, told Anadolu.

Currently, a third of the Afghan population, or nearly 16 million people, are going hungry, and every province is at crisis levels of food insecurity, or higher, according to the UN agency.

“We have 15.8 million people in acute food insecurity, which includes 3.5 million people facing emergency levels of food insecurity,” Kropf said.

UN figures paint a grim picture for women and girls, with an estimated 1 million malnourished, pregnant and breastfeeding women in Afghanistan in 2023.

Around 2 million girls and boys under the age of 5 were facing moderate acute malnutrition, and nearly 860,000 girls and boys under 5 had severe acute malnutrition.

“Severe acute malnutrition is one of the worst cases, where children do, unfortunately, die regularly,” said Kropf.

Crisis of access

One stark difference when comparing Afghanistan to other countries grappling with food crises is the level of availability.

In Afghanistan, according to the WFP, food is available in most parts of the country, even in the smaller remote districts.

The challenge is that families, including, and in most cases, women and girls, cannot access it because they do not have the money to buy it.

“Afghanistan is a crisis where the most vulnerable women and children cannot access the food that is on the market,” Kropf explained.

Curbs imposed on women’s employment have severely impacted households where women are the main providers.

Many of these are women and widows who are currently not able to go out to work, he said.

“They are not salaried anymore. They cannot find work outside of their homes and it is increasingly difficult for them to buy the food, to buy the basic needs,” said Kropf.

More children are being admitted to hospitals and clinics for malnutrition, with beds fully occupied in some areas, he added.

He cited testimonies of women who have been deprived of the chance to earn an income, or cases where their husbands have moved to neighboring countries for work but are unable to send money to their families.

“Mothers here are relying a lot on borrowing food and money, both from shopkeepers and also from relatives,” said the WFP official.

“They are at the brink and they have very few opportunities left to look after themselves and their children.”

Food security and funding cuts

In August 2021, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.

The food security situation has improved since then, said Kropf, with donor investments and sustained large-scale food assistance helping pull back millions of people from the brink.

Last year, the harvest was also a bit better, he added.

“It was the first on-average harvest in several years. So, we do see a slight improvement of the food security situation, but we are at risk of losing all the gains,” he warned.

“We are now in a situation where we’re kind of stabilized. The economy is in a better state than many people thought two years ago, (but) we’re still not in a good state.”

A major issue is that, in 2023, the WFP had a massive funding shortfall that forced it to drop around 10 million people from assistance programs in Afghanistan.

These included 1.4 million women and children who did not receive any specialized food anymore to prevent and treat malnutrition, said Kropf, adding that the agency is still facing a “big funding crisis.”

This is not a case of “playing one humanitarian crisis against the other,” he asserted, but the number of crises around the globe have left “many more people in need of emergency food assistance.”

“There are, of course, crises that are more in the headlines. So, we’re calling on all our partners and all our donors not to forget about the Afghan girls, boys, women and men who need assistance,” he said.

In previous comments on the aid cuts, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan’s economic situation was “normal” but impacted by the “40 years of war in the country.”

“The countries that help us should increase their cooperation. We appreciate their help and we want more help from them,” he told local broadcaster Tolo News.

Impact of climate change

Afghanistan’s food crisis is also exacerbated by the fact that it is “one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis,” Kropf pointed out.

Since 2018, Afghanistan has been “in drought or in drought-like conditions,” he said, adding that past harvests have not been sufficient to feed the country.

This winter season was also “very much delayed, very late,” so the lack of snow means that “it’s very well possible that Afghanistan is going into another year of drought-like conditions,” said Kropf.

He said erratic weather patterns fluctuating between drought and floods are taking a massive toll on agriculture.

This issue was also raised by an Economy Ministry official in comments to Tolo News.

“Climate change and droughts have affected the agriculture sector and social security to some extent,” said Abdul Rahmad Habib, a ministry spokesman, stressing that “dealing with climate change” is a key government priority.

At the moment, Kropf said people in Afghanistan are in a place where they “cannot prepare, cannot predict” the weather patterns.

“Just a few weeks back … hundreds of animals, livestock, sheep, goat, donkeys, cows died in the snow because shepherds brought them out far into the desert to find food, suspecting that the winter is over,” he said.

“Suddenly, winter came with meters of snow and hundreds of livestock perished. So, these are the long-term challenges that we are seeing in Afghanistan.”

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

We don't hear enough from civilians in these countries, and women least of all. It was just recently I heard on a podcast the story of an Afghan village being liberated from the Taliban some years ago. In one house, American troops discovered what appeared to be a normal family, except for the daughter chained to the bed. Not only was she a minor -- seven, eight, nine years old -- she was also mentally handicapped. Considered worthless, they employed her in the only manner that would bring the household some money. They chained her up. The village bicycle. Available to all for a few pennies in hand. What a life! What a misery! There are simply no words for such barbarism.

https://x.com/WDIAfghanistan/status/1960402144009286116
WDI.Afghanistan
@WDIAfghanistan
Please read and share message and story from Afghan woman:-
It may be hard for some to believe, but this is the truth. I’m writing from one of the most remote parts of Afghanistan — a place where most people don’t even have access to electricity or mobile phones.
Because of security concerns, I can’t share my exact location. But here, even mobile networks barely work — we have to climb to rooftops or high places just to get a signal.
First, I want to thank @DeclarationOn, Joe, and dear @Yalbano12345 and everyone who helps amplify our voices.
Yal Bano sent me a mobile phone and power bank so I could share the realities of my village and attend online English classes.
I am a mother of five children. My sons are older, and my daughters are still under seven. In our village, girls aren’t allowed to go to school — not even up to age 12, unlike in Kabul.
In our local mosque, they officially announced that once a girl becomes young, she must marry — preferably to a Taliban member. If not, she can marry someone else, but only with permission to know girl is married.
I’m terrified of my daughters growing up, because their future holds no freedom. They are expected to marry Taliban members by force. I wish they would never grow older.
Here, women have no value — we are like walking corpses.
Even before the Taliban, life was hard, but now it is unbearable. The abuse doesn’t just come from men. Our mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law — women themselves — treat us with cruelty.
I remember a case where a mother-in-law poured boiling water on her daughter-in-law. No one asked why. Instead, they blamed the girl.
Please hear my story and share it. I will continue to report to you the news from my village.
Thank you for being our voice.

https://x.com/WDIAfghanistan/status/1956416561046319440
WDI.Afghanistan
@WDIAfghanistan
Message from Afghan women and girls inside Afghanistan:-and said our message to all world
“Today, August 15, the Taliban celebrated what they call their “victory day” — broadcasting it across all media under their control.
But inside our homes, Afghan women sit in silence, crying, with hearts full of pain.
No one hears our tears.
This day is not a victory for us — it is the death of our freedom.”

https://x.com/WDIAfghanistan/status/1959936787725385784
WDI.Afghanistan
@WDIAfghanistan
Afghanistan: this woman say she was forced to marry a Taliban official and raped every night.
She recorded and shared this video from inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to international TV and world, saying:
“Maybe after this video, no one will see me again. Maybe after this video, they will kill me.”

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik India

🚨🇵🇰 Pakistan confirms death of 23 soldiers during clashes with Afghanistan

Afghanistan lost 200+ fighters, the Pakistani army said.

Pakistan Army also captured 21 defensive structures on the Afghan side of the border.

🚨🇵🇰 58 Pakistani soldiers killed in Afghan retaliatory strikes

Afghan forces also captured 25 Pakistani military outposts during the operation, the Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.

Afghanistan lost 20 fighters killed in overnight clashes, added.

https://x.com/Sputnik_India/status/1977353492688756878

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik India

🚨🇵🇰 Pakistan summons Afghan ambassador over joint India-Afghanistan statement

https://x.com/Sputnik_India/status/1977265322945048820

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik India

Oct 11
⚡️⚡️ Afghan MoD statement on latest clashes along 🇵🇰Pakistani border:

🔺 Retaliatory strikes launched on Pakistani bases along eastern & southern borders

🔺 Targets include centers ‘used to launch drones into Afghan territory’

🔺 Simultaneous strikes on ‘ISIS*-linked hubs inside Pakistan’

🔺 Operation to continue ‘until all border violations cease’

*banned in Russia

https://x.com/Sputnik_India/status/1977090749817655443

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik Brasil

Auto-translated from Portuguese by Grok

🇦🇫🇵🇰 Clashes on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan – what do we know so far?

⚔️ The forces of both countries clashed along several sectors of the 2,600 km border last night (11th) using small arms, mortars, artillery, and aviation.

🇦🇫 According to the Afghan version:

🔶 The attacks were retaliation for the Pakistani bombing of Thursday (9th) against Afghan territory;

🔶 The operation was successful: Pakistan lost 58 soldiers killed and 30 wounded against more than 20 killed and wounded from Afghanistan, 25 Pakistani military posts were captured;

🔶 Afghanistan halted its operation at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia;

🔶 Pakistan harbors Daesh* terrorists on its territory and must put an end to that, as well as to the bombings of Afghan territory.

🇵🇰According to the Pakistani version:

🔶 The Afghan attacks were not provoked by Pakistan and represent a provocation during the visit of the Afghan foreign minister to India – "the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the region";

🔶 Pakistan lost 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded, killing more than 200 Afghan force personnel "and allied terrorist groups". 21 fortified positions were taken in Afghan territory;

🔶 Afghanistan hosts several terrorist groups on its territory that attack Pakistan, and if they are not neutralized by Kabul, Islamabad will continue to do so itself.

*Terrorist group banned in Russia

https://x.com/sputnik_brasil/status/1977363140468789578

[Ravenlocke]

Sputnik India

🚨🇵🇰Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to temporary ceasefire: Pakistan's Foreign Ministry

https://x.com/Sputnik_India/status/1978452196464214229

[thirtythree]

Here's a more neutral source on the matter:

https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/20...border-clashes