Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from November, 2017
A Student's Suicide Prompts Demands for Higher Education Reform in Afghanistan
"Break the hand that pushed a person to kill herself!"
Journalists Face the Sharp End of Growing Violence and Insecurity in Afghanistan
Authorities are quick to hail the free press as an achievement, but slow to offer it protection.
Russian TV Backs Down After Calling Armenian Hero ‘Fascist Collaborator’
"Garegin Nzhdeh is one of the greatest heroes of the Armenian nation and monuments to him should be erected not only in Yerevan, but also in different parts of Armenia."
13 Things Banned (or Strongly Discouraged) in Tajikistan
Tajikistan's people are renowned for hospitality, but their government isn't. Some locals joke the only ban left is a ban on banning things.
In Kyrgyzstan, Sheep Sacrificed to Stem Car Crash Scourge
"We gave meat to everybody that passed, explaining that the food was from God."
When Citizens Rejected a Ban on WhatsApp and Telegram, Afghan Officials Backed Down
"The order must be immediately withdrawn, otherwise we put Ghani’s name in line with dictators like Putin, Bashar Assad, Kim Jong Un and many more."
How a Female Scientist Became a Symbol of Resistance to Sexism in Kyrgyzstan
"Take that patriarchs! A woman scientist is saving lives while you make judgements on how to correctly collect dirty socks!"
A Game of Inches: Watch the Georgian Try That Sent Rugby Fans Into Raptures
"I wish I had seen this in real time. The speed those legs were pumping at, to reach the ball. AND ground it! Amazing! Bravo!"
Azerbaijani Activist Defies Government Pressure, NGO Stereotypes
"What I've seen during my lifetime is that most of the democracy and freedom fighters sold out in the end."
‘I Felt This Happiness in My Skin and Bones': Domestic Football Thrills Afghanistan
"(The) Afghan football final was a huge success regardless of who won. A sold out crowd cheered two hours straight."
Female-Run Restaurant Bends Back Social Barriers in Pakistan's Quetta
"Years ago, women’s lives were limited to the four walls of the house in Hazara Town, but it is no longer the case now."
Meet Khazar Fatemi, a Swedish Journalist Still Searching for the Afghanistan She Left Behind
"For me it is important to use the freedom my parents fought so hard for."
Athletes, Politicians Back Georgian Soccer Player's Support for LGBT Rights
"We are far from getting there, but I see change," one Tbilisi resident commented.
Why Tajik Brides Live in Fear of Their In-Laws, Even Before They Get Married
Some 300 brides from the country's Khatlon region complained of abuse from their mothers-in-law in the first nine months of 2017.
In Offhand Remark, Putin Says Someone Is Harvesting Russians’ Biological Material
"...someone is collecting images of our voters and using them in some way…images are one thing, but did you know that biological material is being collected across the whole country"
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