KABUL — As the Taliban introduce greater restrictions on women and much of the local media have left or been forced to self-censor in Afghanistan, concerns have grown about the future of the Afghan Shia Hazara minority group despite assurances from the authorities.
While deeply distrustful of the current government’s pledges to protect their long-persecuted community, many Hazaras told Al-Monitor while reporting from the country in late 2022 that their greatest concern for the moment is the future of their daughters and other women — and that it is unclear who is carrying out some of the attacks on them.