Afghanistan

Heritageanalysis

Three years on: how the Taliban has impacted Afghanistan's culture

The government is increasing support for desperately needed restoration projects, but repressive new laws erase women and girls from public life

World is ‘blindly failing’ persecuted Afghan artists, human rights organisation says

As a new report is released, the US-based Artistic Freedom Initiative demands refugee status for artists and cultural workers under threat from Taliban rule

The ancient villages and historic monuments destroyed in western Afghanistan earthquakes

Last month's deadly quakes affected key historic monuments in Herat and beyond

What impact has two years of Taliban rule had on the arts in Afghanistan?

Future of arts and women’s rights remain uncertain despite government backing of cultural heritage projects

Afghanistananalysis

How Afghanistan’s art degrees are disappearing

The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s freedom, the absence of expertise and a collapsed economy are limiting opportunities in higher education

Resettlement hopes of Afghan artists shattered as Germany halts scheme

German government’s visa admissions programme is abruptly suspended, leaving desperate applicants in limbo

Isolation is thwarting archaeological discoveries of Afghanistan’s rich heritage

Conservation works on an ancient burial site at Shewaki near Kabul had to be halted due to lack of funding and resources

Italy throws Afghanistan a lifeline for restoration in the Bamiyan area

A new Unesco initiative will provide much-needed local employment in the vulnerable heritage site

'We need to act fast': experts race to preserve Afghanistan's ancient Buddhist heritage site Mes Aynak from copper mining

Taliban government has backed a new conservation project led by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Aliph

Can Bamiyan and other heritage sites survive the Taliban?

The Taliban say they are dedicated to preserving Afghanistan’s cultural sites, but struggle to gain much needed international support

Exhibition of artists from Afghanistan seeks to challenge Americans’ perceptions of the country

A show at the University of California, Berkeley showcases works by artists from Afghanistan and the Afghan diaspora reflecting on the events of August 2021 and what has occurred since

Afghan universities and art centres ban female students as Taliban clamps down

A future generation of artists could be lost as well as the livelihoods of their teachers

'Lost in limbo': Taliban’s application for Unesco protection of historic Kabul garden still unanswered after a year

United Nations culture organisation has not acknowledged the January 2022 request to add Afghanistan's Bagh-e Babur to the World Heritage List

Crippled economy and Taliban restrictions test Afghan artists

Practitioners countrywide keep working under Islamic regime with ongoing uncertainty over approved art subjects

Parthenon Marbles: is a breakthrough in sight?

Plus, Afghan culture in crisis and Kiki Smith’s New York murals

Hosted by Ben Luke. With guest speaker Sarvy Geranpayeh. Produced by David Clack, Aimee Dawson and Henrietta Bentall
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Kabul culture project in limbo as Germany withdraws funding

The German government has pulled out from the Kabul Riverfront Transformation project, which was to modernise parts of the city's historic centre and install an art gallery

Should the world resume co-operating with the Taliban on protecting Afghanistan's heritage?

Conservation projects that have been paused due to sanctions on the new government may restart after Unesco intervention

Taliban government approves conservation work on historic synagogue in Afghanistan

Go ahead given to a restoration project to preserve two historic sites associated with the Jewish community that once resided in Herat

Letter from Afghanistan, after fleeing to Iran: it is not safe to be a woman or an artist

Sadaf Danish, an artist from Afghanistan, had to escape the Taliban but fears for the girls left behind

Stolen Afghan manuscripts have been coming up for sale at major auction houses, according to research group

The Himaya project based in Qatar has been working with Interpol to identify artefacts trafficked to London, Paris and Amsterdam

New York human rights organisation surpasses target for relocating Afghan artists fleeing Taliban

The Artistic Freedom Initiative is resettling 23 arts professionals and 38 family members in the US in the wake of the insurgency

First the Taliban, now local planners—Afghanistan's World Heritage site Bamiyan Valley endangered further

Unesco warns of risks of construction works in the archaeological zone where the Bamiyan Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001

Do the Taliban regret blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas? New government takes steps to protect heritage

Leaders of the new Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan says it favours the conservation of the tangible heritage—including pre-Islamic monuments—but economic sanctions are getting in the way

One year after Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, artists stage remembrance festival of kite flying

International event—featuring storytelling, music, poetry and dance—aims to bring awareness to the continuing plight of Afghans

Afghanistan earthquake highlights need for investment in country’s undiscovered heritage

A week after the tragedy, it remains unclear whether cultural sites have been affected

New series of obscured portraits honour Afghan interpreters’ service in the fight against the Taliban

Photographs by former British army officer Andy Barnham capture the lives of the translators whilst hiding their identity from Afghanistan's extremist rulers

Taliban orders coal traders to leave Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley—but its residents say this is an empty promise

Since August 2021, illegal excavations and rapid development have destroyed much of the landscape surrounding the at-risk Buddhist heritage site

New concerns for the Bamiyan Valley's future in Taliban hands surface on anniversary of monumental Buddhas' destruction

Evidence of encroaching development, looting and a new coal depot near the site poses major threats to its status—and its future

US bans import of art and antiquities from Afghanistan

Experts in the trade question whether items seized by US customs under the new four-year policy will be returned to the Taliban

Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley will collapse in the next ten years if looting and neglect continue, former Unesco representative warns

An increase in illegal development and excavations is damaging the structural integrity of the World Heritage Site that has stood for more than 1,000 years