In recent weeks, the Taliban has launched a crackdown on Afghan women and girls accused of violating the extremist group's strict dress code. Some of the women and their relatives have told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi that they were humiliated and tortured in Taliban detention.
UNICEF, the UN's aid and relief organization for children, has called for greater support for the nearly 100,000 children affected by the October earthquakes in the western Afghan province of Herat.
The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan has expressed deep concern over what it says are recent arbitrary detentions and arrests of Afghan women and girls because of alleged violations of the Islamic dress code.