Latest posts by Joshua Foust
Afghanistan: Women's Day in the Unrest Country
March the Eighth was the International Women's Day, a global celebration of the unsung heroes who make society function. Afghan bloggers noted it was happening, but placed the long struggle for women's rights in a rather historical context. Mohammed Khairy laments, In my country, Afghanistan, women are always marching and...
Afghanistan: Returned Refugees, Police Fatigue and Freezing Children
There has been a series of articles on the plight of Afghanistan's police. Bipasha Ray notes one of the many problems facing the creation of a police force from scratch: [There are] overworked and grossly underpaid and under-equipped policemen on the verge of mutinying, in charge of enormous swaths of...
Afghanistan: From Bhutto to Christmas, Child Marriage to the Plight of Women
Joshua Foust briefly considers the murder of Benazir Bhutto, then looks at what else is affecting the country—notably, the growing problem of child sexual exploitation.
Afghanistan: Jirgas and Distortion
A while ago, we learned that Hamid Karzai was willing to negotiate with the Taliban. Little has come of that, and Afghanistanica offers an explaination: I would love to see some questions on the loya jirga included in a large-scale survey of Afghan public opinion. I wonder if the average...
Afghanistan: Rumors Fly About the Baghlan Bombing
The horrible suicide bombing of November 6 in Baghlan, which killed dozens, including several members of parliament, has consumed the Afghan blogosphere. I was made privy to a rumor about the bomber's origin: the United National Front, the political coalition of former communists and Northern Alliance warlords. I expressed skepticism,...
Afghanistan: Corruption, Beauty, and Hope for the Future
Afghan blogger Mohammad Fahim Khairy asks, is President Hamid Karzai out of touch? "On the night of the [suicide] attack, Karzai showed up on national television and announced “The attacker is definitely a foreigner because Afghans do not kill any Muslims in the month of Ramadan.” How easily Karzai dismisses the crimes of the so-called Muslim Taliban that millions of people have witnessed with their own eyes."
Afghanistan: The Not-So-Obvious Problems
Joshua Foust takes a survey of some of the less "sexy" problems facing Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Remembering September 11, 2001
Joshua Foust spent September 11, 2007 thinking about what he calls "the original war on terror," in Afghanistan. He collects local opinion and searches for hope amid the chaos.
Afghanistan: Culture, Clash
In this week's Afghanistan blog tour, Joshua Foust reports about culturally insensitive footballs, the beautiful city of Herat, suicide bombs in Kabul and a lack of foreign investment.
Afghanistan: Errors of Judgment
In his first roundup for Global Voices, Joshua Foust takes a tour of mostly Western experts on Afghanistan to see where and how things are changing. This week, he focuses on the newly unveiled American opium eradication campaign.
