Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार

Award-winning Journalist #Afghanistan #India #Ukraine. @iwmf @PRBdata @unfoundation @jcogt1 fellow. Words in @Guardian @NPR others Earlier: @dna @TimesofIndia

[Thomas (RUS out of UKR; stop Gaza genocide) Ruttig @thruttig]

thanks for reporting. some detail is new:
* meeting place novotel hotel near #Brussels airport
* T deleg. escorted by belgian plainclothes officers
* no. of participants: 20 from 15 #EU+ countries (incl. GR, A, PL, N)
* bilateral talks w. at least 4 countries, incl. S
2/3

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

In Russian-occupied Kherson region a woman came to the hospital in Hola Prystan bleeding. No anaesthesia. No electricity.

The nurse turned on the torch on her phone and held it over the table. There was no other option, the Guardian. 1/

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

Read my full article, here

https://t.co/bOTKYukeHm

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

Over the last few months, I interviewed several Ukrainian women who are currently living in occupation or had recently left about what they had been experiencing under the Russian occupation.

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

The overall humanitarian conditions in these areas are deplorable, and the healthcare situation has been gradually deteriorating to a point where there is nothing left.

[Mariam Safi @OfficialMariamS]

Our field research in #Afghanistan found:

1. Taliban-run madrassas are reshaping gender norms for girls & boys.
2. Its being used to spread Taliban ideology.
3. Is drawing resources away from public schools.
4. Poses long-term security challenges.

Read: https://t.co/QAdT3zynSU

[Thomas van Linge @ThomasVLinge]

Russian terror on full display. Just an hour ago these people were having a normal Monday at the office, now they're fighting for their lives.

Ukraine 🇺🇦

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

On Sept 2, US embassy in Sri Lanka posted about exact same seizure (same amt, same words) identifying it as "Pakistan-based narcotrafficking network", three weeks ago! Timing of much delayed 2nd post is interesting as it comes amidst escalating Af-Pak war

https://t.co/mFbyt4rAiH

[U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka @USEmbSL]

Intelligence developed through the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration @DEAHQ helped Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau @SL_PoliceMedia disrupt a Pakistan-based narcotrafficking network attempting to smuggle crystal methamphetamine through Sri Lanka to international markets. The operation led to the seizure of approximately 463 kg of crystal methamphetamine, valued at $21 million, and several arrests. Building on years of U.S.-funded training and assistance, U.S.-Sri Lankan law enforcement cooperation is delivering real results against transnational criminal organizations, disrupting drug trafficking and helping protect our communities. Read more: https://t.co/Jvh73QOpYa

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

Noticed something very interesting last few days; US Embassy in Pakistan put out this statement on Sept 22 about drug seizures identifying it as "Afghan-origin".

The Tb are not happy about it but nothing new since Afg's drug problem persists. Except...

https://t.co/L9fur9Q3ie

[U.S. Embassy Islamabad @usembislamabad]

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Pakistani Anti-Narcotics Force seized 463 kilograms of Afghan-origin crystal meth worth $21 million bound for Sri Lanka, leading to multiple arrests. The joint effort highlights how ongoing U.S. training for Pakistani helps dismantle international drug trafficking networks and keeps communities and America more secure.

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

@sadatroya1 Looking forward to watching this!

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

This is a very black-and-white take coming from someone who's encouraged the world to consider nuances in Gaza. Weapons in Ukraine are used in self-defence against an invader killing civilians.
Ukraine was deadliest war of 2025, and those weapons came from Iran+Russia, not NATO.

[Stazione Quinta @H4NDelMonaco]

Francesca Albanese accusa la NATO – non la Russia – di tenere aperta la guerra in Ucraina, chiede di togliere le armi a Kyiv e, quando arriva il momento di spiegare come fermare la guerra, ammette: «non ce l’ho la soluzione».

Quindi l’aggressore resta armato, l’aggredito no e la colpa se la guerra continua è della NATO.

Una narrazione colonialista, complottista e perfettamente sovrapponibile alla propaganda russa. Da una relatrice speciale dell’ONU è davvero agghiacciante.

[AHRDO @AhrdoAfg]

A report by AHRDO cites 2,745 people subjected to corporal punishment between February 2022 and April 2026, with women and marginalised groups, including Afghanistan’s LGBT community, disproportionately affected.
Read more from @NPR @RuchiKumar :
https://t.co/c1AUm5WVq0

[Bahar | بهار @BGhandehari]

While everyone debates the Guardian letter, here are some much more important letters, written at great risk by the very political prisoners currently being treated as mere footnotes to ideological arguments.

These are the voices that actually deserve our attention. ⬇️

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

Just months before Putin launched his “special operation” in Ukraine, Iran sold $ 4bn worth weapons to Russia, and since then continued to sell weapons and tech that levelled schools, hospitals, and civilian homes. Is that part of the anti-imperial struggle you wax poetic about?

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

In light of controversy of signature withdrawal supposedly by academics wary of critiquing a country fighting "an existential anti-imperial struggle", might I point out said country also made billions selling drones, missiles that kill Ukrainian children

https://t.co/IwZw4IIG5x

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

They'd rather women not go to even a madrasa because that might mean they'll know some of their rights.

Please don't miss this excellent piece of journalism by @KawoonKhamoosh

https://t.co/tK8tnAjQpX

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

The nature of women's seclusion in Afghanistan is very much unique to it and unlike anywhere else in the world, least of all Mumbai, which certainly has its issues with creating spaces for women, but is far ahead in terms of inclusivity.

[Ruchi Kumar روچی کمار रूची कुमार @RuchiKumar]

As a woman born and raised in Mumbai, and lived seven years in Kabul, this is a terrible comparison!

It ignores the political and social realities in both places, and conflates two very separate issues under the flag of gender visibility.

[Alice Evans @_alice_evans]

Female seclusion is not unique to Afghanistan.

When Varun Karekurve-Ramachandra and Gaurav Sood organised a GPS-linked camera to cover the streets of Mumbai and then processed 23,000 observations of visible individuals, they found that...

Women accounted for 16% of visible individuals on the streets of Mumbai.