Art therapy offers relief to Afghan women struggling with mental health

Khushi, 19, draws on a paper in an art studio in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, August 6, 2023. (REUTERS)
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Updated 11 August 2023
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Art therapy offers relief to Afghan women struggling with mental health

  • Taliban closed universities to women in December 2022, ordered most Afghan female humanitarian workers not to work
  • Restricting women from public life is key hurdle to moving toward any formal global recognition of Taliban’s government

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: At home in northern Afghanistan, 19-year old Khushi draws a self-portrait — a figure enveloped by a blue burqa inside a cage.

The former university student once attended classes in law and political science at northern Balkh province’s main university. But she sank into depression since the Taliban closed tertiary institutions to women in December, requiring psychiatric treatment where she was recommended art therapy classes.

“When I realized that I am not mentally well, I got sad ... I was not happy at all, I was always depressed, I felt like a bird being stuck in a cage, one who has lost all her happiness,” said Khushi, who is only being identified by only one name for security reasons.

“After the Taliban banned girls from universities and announced that girls can no longer continue our education, I felt so upset, day by day my mental health deteriorated, I ... finally decided to see a psychiatrist in order to get better.”

The Taliban closed universities to women in December 2022, sparking rare public protests. The decision came in the wake of the closure of most girls’ high schools and was followed by Taliban authorities ordering most Afghan female humanitarian workers not to work.

The orders restricting women from public life have drawn heavy international criticism and Western governments have said it is a key hurdle to moving toward any formal recognition of the Taliban’s government, which took over as foreign forces left two years ago.

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The Taliban say they respect women’s rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture.

But many women, particularly in urban areas, who gained opportunities in education and work during the 20-year presence of foreign troops and a Western-backed government are now struggling with a deep sense of despair and mental health challenges, Afghan women and mental health experts say.

“Since the Islamic Emirate (Taliban administration) started ruling the country, they have imposed so many restrictions on women, they banned them from universities, amusement parks, beauty salons and so on, they have left nothing for women,” said

Khushi’s psychiatrist, who also cannot be named for security reasons. “Art studios are the only avenue we have left to help our patients... they have become the only place where girls can clear their minds, catch up with old friends, make new friends, and apart from that, they can learn art too.”

Khushi sees her psychiatrist twice a month. He used to see four to five patients a day but says the number of his patients has now increased to 10 to 15 daily, most of them women. The increase became even more noticeable after the Taliban banned female students from attending universities, he said.

Health organizations estimate half of Afghanistan’s 40 million people have suffered from psychological distress after decades of war and instability. There are few reliable figures on mental health trends but anecdotally doctors and aid workers say more women are struggling with mental health in the wake of the orders restricting women’s work and education.

In a small, colorful art studio in Balkh’s capital Mazar-i-Sharif, paintings adorn the walls and several young women, including Khushi, gather for a pencil drawing class. Many of them have been sent here at the recommendation of a mental health expert to ease their isolation and learn a new skill, alongside talk therapy and medication.

“When I felt depressed, the doctor prescribed me to go to a place where I can calm my mind. I chose the art studio. Not only did I make good friends here, I also receive art therapy,” said a former university student at the class.

Khushi said the art therapy gave her a respite from home and a little hope for the future.

“It gives me a sense of accomplishment for having made something, over all, drawing empowers me with confidence,” she said. “I’m disappointed in my life, but I am not giving up, I will fight. I hope things will get better in the future.”


Russia says ‘derailed’ Kyiv’s war plans after uproar over test strike

Updated 3 sec ago
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Russia says ‘derailed’ Kyiv’s war plans after uproar over test strike

  • Vladimir Putin says the conflict in Ukraine had taken on a ‘global’ nature
  • NATO and Ukraine will hold talks next week in Brussels over the strike
KYIV: Russia said on Friday it had scuppered Kyiv’s military objectives for 2025 just after President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the West by test-firing a new intermediate-range missile at Ukraine.
That assessment for next year came after a Russian drone attack at night on the eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two civilians and wounded a dozen more in an attack with new cluster munitions, local authorities said.
Putin announced the missile launch in a defiant address late on Thursday, saying the conflict in Ukraine had taken on a “global” nature, while hinting at strikes on Western countries.
In a meeting with military commanders, Russian defense minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow’s advance had “accelerated” in Ukraine and “ground down” Kyiv’s best units.
“We have, in fact, derailed the entire 2025 campaign,” Belousov said of the Ukrainian army in a video published by the Russian defense ministry.
The attack, which apparently targeted an aerospace manufacturing plant in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, sparked immediate condemnation from Kyiv’s allies.
China, which has thrown its political clout behind the Kremlin, reiterated calls for “calm” and “restraint” by all parties after Russia confirmed the new missile strike.
“All parties should remain calm and exercise restraint, work to de-escalate the situation through dialogue and consultation, and create conditions for an early ceasefire,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meanwhile, on Friday described Russia’s deployment of the medium-range missile as a “terrible escalation.”
NATO and Ukraine will hold talks next week in Brussels over the strike, according to diplomats.
Ambassadors from countries in the NATO-Ukraine Council will hold talks on Tuesday. The meeting was called by Kyiv following the Dnipro strike, officials said.
The Russian attack came after Ukraine recently fired US- and UK-supplied missiles at Russian territory for the first time, escalating already sky-high tensions over the conflict, which is nearly in its third year.
Washington said it had granted Kyiv permission to fire long-range weapons at Russian territory as a response to the Kremlin’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops on Ukraine’s border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a strong response from world leaders to Russia’s use of the new missile, which he said proved Moscow “does not want peace.”
In Kyiv, Oleksandra, a 30-year-old resident working in the media, said the Russian strike was a sign of desperation within the Kremlin.
“You could have launched a missile that is less expensive and have the same result. As long as this missile does not carry a nuclear payload, there is nothing to fear about,” she said.
Russian troops have been making steady advances in eastern Ukraine for months, capturing a string of small towns and villages from overstretched Ukrainian soldiers lacking manpower and artillery.
In the city of Sumy, authorities said a Russian drone had struck a residential neighborhood. Emergency services distributed images showing rescue workers retrieving the bodies of the dead from the rubble.
Sumy lies across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops captured swathes of territory after launching a major ground offensive in August.
The head of the Sumy region, Volodymyr Artyukh, said Russia had deployed a drone with modified munitions that were equipped with shrapnel, describing the weapons as being “used to kill people, not to destroy buildings.”

Indian commandos kill 10 Maoist rebels

Updated 20 min 37 sec ago
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Indian commandos kill 10 Maoist rebels

  • More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by the Naxalite movement
  • Gunbattle took place in a remote forested area of Chhattisgarh state, the heartland of the insurgency

RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces gunned down at least 10 Maoist rebels on Friday during a firefight, police said, as New Delhi steps up efforts to crush the long-running armed conflict.
More than 10,000 people have died in the decades-long insurgency waged by the Naxalite movement, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized Indigenous people of India’s remote and resource-rich central regions.
The gunbattle took place in a remote forested area of Chhattisgarh state, the heartland of the insurgency.
“Dead bodies of 10 Maoists have been recovered so far,” Vivekanand Sinha, chief of the state police’s anti-Maoist operations, said.
Sinha said the police recovered several automatic weapons from the rebels.
India’s home minister Amit Shah this year issued an ultimatum to the insurgents to surrender or face an “all-out assault.”
A crackdown by security forces has killed over 200 rebels this year, an overwhelming majority in Chhattisgarh, according to government data.
India has deployed tens of thousands of security personnel to battle the Maoists across the insurgent-dominated “Red Corridor,” which stretches across central, southern and eastern states but has shrunk dramatically in size.
India has pumped millions of dollars into infrastructure development in remote areas and claims to have confined the insurgency to 45 districts in 2023, down from 96 in 2010.
The conflict has seen a number of deadly attacks on government forces over the years. Twenty-two police and paramilitaries were killed in a gunbattle with the far-left guerrillas in 2021.
Sixteen commandos were also killed in the western state of Maharashtra in a bomb attack that was blamed on the Maoists in the lead-up to national elections in 2019.


Second Australian dies after suspected Laos alcohol poisoning

Updated 22 November 2024
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Second Australian dies after suspected Laos alcohol poisoning

  • A total of six foreign tourists have now died of suspected methanol poisoning in a backpacker hotspot in northern Laos

SYDNEY: A second young Australian tourist has died after apparently ingesting tainted alcohol while on holiday in Laos, Canberra’s foreign minister said Friday.
“All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing of Holly Bowles,” Penny Wong said in a statement. “Just yesterday, Holly lost her best friend, Bianca Jones.”
“I know tonight all Australians will be holding both families in our hearts,” the foreign minister added.
A total of six foreign tourists have now died of suspected methanol poisoning in a backpacker hotspot in northern Laos.
They were from Australia, Britain, Denmark and the United States.
Many of the victims were in their teens or early twenties and fell sick after a night out in Vang Vieng.
Australian officials are now pressing Laotian authorities for a full and transparent investigation into what happened.
Alcohol tainted with methanol is suspected to be the cause of death.
Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in industrial and household products like antifreeze, photocopier fluids, de-icers, paint thinner, varnish and windshield wiper fluid.
Despite being toxic to humans, it is sometimes used in cheaply made home brew.


At least 10 killed in Afghanistan attack, interior ministry says

Updated 22 November 2024
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At least 10 killed in Afghanistan attack, interior ministry says

  • It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack

KABUL: At least 10 people were killed by gunmen in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, Interior Ministry Spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qaniee said on Friday.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The Taliban took over the country in 2021 and vowed to restore security to the war-torn nation. Attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the militant Daesh group.

In September, 14 people were killed and six others injured in an attack claimed by Daesh in central Afghanistan.


China urges ICC to take ‘objective’ position after Netanyahu arrest warrant

Updated 22 November 2024
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China urges ICC to take ‘objective’ position after Netanyahu arrest warrant

  • Warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant ‘for crimes against humanity and war crimes’
  • China, like Israel and the United States, is not a member of the International Criminal Court

BEIJING: China urged the International Criminal Court on Friday to remain objective and fair after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“China hopes the ICC will uphold an objective and just position (and) exercise its powers in accordance with the law,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in response to a question about the court’s warrant for Netanyahu.
The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday “for crimes against humanity and war crimes” committed between October 8, 2023, and May 20 this year.
It said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the pair bore “criminal responsibility” for using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally attacking civilians.
Netanyahu denounced the move as anti-Semitic and the court’s accusations as “absurd and false.”
China, which like Israel and the United States is not a member of the ICC, said it “supports any efforts by the international community on the Palestinian issue that are conducive to achieving fairness and justice and upholding the authority of international law.”
Lin also accused the United States of “double standards” in response to a question about the US opposition to the court’s pursuit of Netanyahu, but its support for a warrant against Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“China consistently opposes certain countries only use international law when it suits them... and engaging in double standards,” Lin said.
US President Joe Biden has condemned the warrants against Israeli leaders, calling them “outrageous.”