At least five dead in suicide attack on Afghan military academy

The Taliban has sparked outrage and concern among rights groups, after it reversed stance and closed secondary schools for girls across Afghanistan. Thousands of young students were sent home, confused and worried about their future.

For more than nine months, Afghan girls over the age of 11 have been prohibited from going to high school. The Taliban have not reneged on the ban they imposed on taking power last August, despite their initial promise to do so. In the western city of Herat, FRANCE 24's reporters followed one teacher who hopes that her former students will be able to continue their education. They also met a teacher who is defying the ban by giving clandestine lessons. Meanwhile, some fathers are trying to convince the authorities to reopen girls' schools for their daughters.

Almost 10 months ago, Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban. The hardline Islamists' return to power led to a mass exodus of the Afghan population, with the US taking in some 78,000 refugees. California received the largest number, followed by Texas, where some 10,500 Afghans are already calling the Lone Star State home. Texans are proud to welcome them, as our correspondents report.

Despite repeated calls on the Taliban to allow girls to attend classes again, the group still has yet to answer. Netizens have taken to the web under the #LetAfghanGirlsLearn campaign to demand back the right to study.

Women who protested against Taliban rules were threatened, detained, and tortured, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a new report.

A report released by Amnesty International marking one year since the withdrawal of US and NATO troops concludes that the Taliban has decimated the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan. To understand exactly what's happening in the country today, FRANCE 24 spoke to Dr. Habiba Sarabi, a former Afghan minister for women's affairs and former governor of Bamiyan province. She urged the international community to "take responsibility for the Afghan people and Afghan women in particular".

Taliban takeover deepens Afghan healthcare crisis

A US report suggests Afghan special forces should have been prioritized for evacuation. Many who fled the Taliban ended up in Iran. US-trained soldiers could now be used by Iran in regional conflicts.

The protesters claimed that a recent suicide bombing in Kabul was specifically meant to target girls of the historically oppressed Hazara community. The UN says 35 were killed and 82 wounded.

Afghanistan's Hazara community, a Shiite minority, is regularly targeted by the Afghan branch of the Islamic State (IS) group, which considers Hazaras as heretics. Dozens of people, mostly girls, were killed in an attack on an education centre in a Shiite neighbourhood of Kabul on September 30.

Tenants in Pakistan's capital are complaining that Afghan refugees are pushing up rents. Many of the Afghans say they can't move on because of delays getting visas to Western nations.

Women protested and cried outside universities as the ban was enforced. More and more countries have condemned the decision, with the UN urging a reversal.