Balkh (North Afghanistan): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2023

On January 5, a Vice and Virtue Department official came and asked women that we have one week to take away our shops and sit at home, a woman shopkeeper said, reports TOLO News on January 9. An official of the Provincial Department, Sayed Zahir, told TOLO News that the shops were closed due to co-working with men and lack of observing hijab by women. This comes after women were banned from working in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan, a decision that triggered global reactions. Read less...

On January 7, Taliban rescued a man from the grip of kidnappers in Angorbagh area of Chahar Bolak District in Balkh Province, reports Bakhtarnews.af. He was abducted few days back. Read less...

180 women and their children were being kept in prisons without heating systems in Samangan, Balkh, Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul and Faryab provinces in north Afghanistan, Hahst-e Subh reports on February 1. 61 women were imprisoned in Balkh women’s prison, 34 women were being kept in Samangan prison, 48 women in Faryab prison, 25 women in Jawzjan prison and 12 women in Sar-e-Pul women’s prison. Sources familiar with the situation of women in these prisons explained that they suffer from extreme cold in cells without heating facilities. These women have been imprisoned for being in premarital relations, narco trafficking, murder and robbery. Some of these prisoners reportedly do not accept the charges against them. Read less...