カテゴリー: Global development
Farzana survived rape, addiction and losing her children. Then the Taliban came – now she is missing
Exiled Afghan psychologist Mariam is desperately trying to trace 15 domestic abuse survivors she was helping before the Taliban seized controlFor more than a year, Mariam*, an Afghan psychologist, has been trying to trace Farzana* and 14 other female s…
Once the butt of others’ standup routines, comics from the lowest social strata are turning the tables, with humour as their weaponOn a wooden chair on a makeshift stage at Cat Café Studio, standup comedian Manaal Patil is holding forth to an appreciat…
The families of sick children have been pushed into poverty to access the country’s severely limited care services. Now a refuge is about to open its doorsDespite a combined economic crisis and drug shortage, Sri Lanka is poised to open its first child…
World Food Programme calls for urgent $125m injection after being forced into axing supplies into Bangladesh refugee camps by 17%The UN has been forced to cut food rations for Rohingya refugees by 17% and has warned of “unconscionable” further cuts in…
Reports that fighters have threatened those issuing birth control medicines come as Afghan midwives and activists warn of impact on women’s health and rightsTaliban fighters have stopped the sale of contraceptives in two of Afghanistan’s main cities, c…
As a child, Ramzan’s fight for an education almost cost her her life. Worldwide, there are 222 million children out of school who urgently need our helpGordon Brown is chairman of the UN’s Education Cannot Wait fund and was UK prime minister between 20…
When the rains came last autumn, I was among the millions made homeless in Sindh province. Here is why – months later – I am still helping to patch up ruined livesRead more: Pakistan families still hungry and homeless months after the floodsThe floods …
Forced to endure a ‘humiliating’ life in tent cities, waiting for stagnant waters to recede, villagers say they have been abandonedSeveral times a week, Manzoor Ali wakes with a faint hope in his heart and walks from the camp on the outskirts of Dadu, …
Harassment by men on public transport is one reason why female participation in the workforce stands at only 20%At precisely 1.40pm, the bright pink bus packed with women leaves the depot and snakes its way through Karachi’s traffic. Two female conduct…
Hosting the World Cup in the Indian state of Odisha has transformed playing the game into a respectable career choiceIn a small mud room, Elisaba Lakra hurriedly cooks lunch for her husband. It is 11am and she only has two hours before her eight-year-o…
Rappers Wild Wild Women use their searing lyrics to highlight the treatment of their sisters in a socially conservative country It’s not easy being a wild woman in India – as members of what is believed to be the country’s first female rap group can t…
UN figures show number of those attempting to escape horrendous conditions in refugee camps increased from 700 in 2021 to over 3,500 in 2022The number of Rohingya refugees taking dangerous sea journeys in the hope of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia has …
India’s severe shortage of mental health professionals and treatment funding leaves many patients without options. But a pioneering programme is working to get lives back on trackIt is Saturday morning, and some 40 people on foot, bikes and rickshaws b…
International funders join Pakistan PM and UN secretary general in Geneva to agree recovery plan following ‘monsoon on steroids’The international community has promised more than $9bn (£7.4bn) to help Pakistan rebuild after last summer’s catastrophic f…
About 250,000 Afghan asylum seekers have arrived in Pakistan since August 2021, but a migrant crackdown has left many of them in fear of being jailed or deportedMore than 600 Afghans have been deported from Pakistan in the past three days, and hundreds…