Society

Breaking Barriers With Beauty: Pakistan's First Transgender Salon

Bebo Haider says she used to be unable to get a haircut in Karachi -- businesses would refuse to serve her because she was transgender. So Haider decided to start her own beauty salon where transgender people are welcome.

Pakistan Sees Spike In Polio Cases

Mob Vandalizes Hindu Temples in Pakistan Over Blasphemy Charges

Insecurity Prompts Thousands To Flee Homes In Eastern Afghan Province

Rising insecurity has prompted hundreds of families to flee their homes in remote parts of a mountainous province in eastern Afghanistan this week.

In Pakistan, Former Sikh Lawmaker Denounced For Seeking Asylum In India

Lawmakers and officials have joined relatives in denouncing a controversial former Sikh lawmaker in Pakistan for seeking asylum in neighboring India after he accused the Muslim-majority country of mistreating its non-Muslim minorities.

Afghanistan Seeking To Promote Ancient Woodcarving Craft

100 Turbulent Years: The Battle For Afghan Women's Rights Since Independence

When Afghanistan declared full independence from Britain 100 years ago, some women also gained new freedoms, including access to education. But the regimes that followed have swung between extremes, both repressing and then promoting women's rights.

Displaced And Desperate, Afghan Kids Search Trash For Food

At the Tagab settlement in Kabul, hundreds of families displaced by conflict and drought live in grinding poverty. The job of bringing home food often falls to the children, who are forced to sift through garbage dumps in search of scraps or anything of value to sell.

NPR: Afghan Women Still Being Imprisoned For Failing Virginity Tests

Afghan women are still being imprisoned for failing virginity tests, despite a nationwide ban on the unscientific practice, U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) reported on August 27.

How Afghans Took On The British And Achieved Full Independence

It's 100 years since the end of Afghanistan's 1919 War of Independence, also known as the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Fought between Afghan and British-Indian forces, the conflict reestablished full Afghan independence after decades of British control over Afghan foreign policy.

Boys With Brides: Afghanistan's Untold Dilemma Of Underage Marriages

Much has been written about Afghan girls who are forced to become child brides. But a painful story that few Afghans talk about is how boys also are being pushed into marriage at a young age.