KABUL -- As a defense lawyer in Kabul, Aaina Nazar largely refused to represent members of extremist groups such as the Afghanistan affiliate of the Islamic State group, but helped women who wanted to divorce Taliban fighters. Threatened by both groups, she never gave up the law.
Since the restoration of the Taliban government in 2021, however, Afghanistan's courts have closed and women have been largely removed from the workforce. "It's always been challenging to be a woman in Afghanistan, but now I'm afraid; I can't even sleep," says Nazar, whose real name is being withheld by Nikkei Asia to protect her safety.
