Life in Afghanistan - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

The heartland of the Taliban is in southern Afghanistan. It was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the twenty year war. British troops were deployed to Helmand Province in the south, where they took most of their casualties. Most people in the south are Pashtuns, one of Afghanistan’s main ethnic groups and increasingly dominant since the Taliban victory. It’s the place where the Taliban is most established and has the strongest support. That means it’s a good place to go to see how the Taliban are once again putting their stamp on what they have renamed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The BBC's Jeremy Bowen, travelled from Kandahar to Lashgar Gah, the capital of Helmand, through areas that have been devastated by so many years of war and sent a report.


As secondary schools in Afghanistan reopened for boys, but not for girls, a Taliban spokeman said Afghan girls will return to their classrooms as soon as possible. The delay has created more uncertainty about the prospects for girls and women in Afghanistan's new Islamic Emirate including the future of their education. The Taliban say they need more time to prepare what they call a safe learning environment for girls in classes.
The BBC's Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet reports from a girls' school in Kabul.

(Image: School classroom in Kabul, Credit: BBC / Bhasker Solanki)

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