Muqaddesa Yourish

Senior Advisor @ASG | Former Deputy Minister Trade, Afghanistan | RT≠ Endorsement

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Sat down with Secretary @HillaryClinton to talk about my country, US & allies outsized role in its current mess, the agency of Afghan people & my stubborn hope for the future.
Thank you @VitalVoices & @nowthisnews for the honor & this opportunity.

[NowThis Impact @nowthisimpact]

'When the Taliban took over Kabul, I had two choices: I could stay or die' — Watch @HillaryClinton in conversation with Afghan refugee @YourishM

Watch NowThis NEXT Presents YES WE DID! The Vital Voices of 2021, in partnership with @VitalVoices: https://t.co/g1ZNlWE2gK

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Yesterday marked five years since the fall of Kabul. And I am sick to my stomach reading yet another round of accounts from so-called expats about what August 15 means to them—their evacuation stories, their fear, their desperation—as though their experience can be equated with that of Afghans who were forced to leave behind their country, their homes, their families, and their entire lives. Many of these people built their careers by working in what they called a “fragile state.” Now even its collapse has become career material.

Throughout the year, Afghan women and girls are largely left to struggle alone. Their suffering rarely seems worthy of sustained attention. But when an “anniversary” creates another publishing opportunity, suddenly there is no shortage of people ready to write about Afghanistan, proclaim how deeply they care, and once again use the pain of Afghan women and girls to center themselves and advance their own interests.

That is not solidarity. It is opportunism dressed up as concern, and I have nothing but contempt for it.

[Nazanin Boniadi @NazaninBoniadi]

My conversations with dissidents inside Iran tell a very different story. Those who have risked imprisonment and worse have stayed because they believed they could help bring about change. It is when hope dies, not when tyranny falls, that mass migration becomes far more likely.

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

@ZahraJoya @Amie_FR Congratulations! So very proud of you.

[Lotfullah Najafizada @LNajafizada]

What’s happening in Herat?

- The governor, a hardliner, reportedly decided in last week’s government meeting to round up women in the city who do not fully cover their faces.
- On Saturday, the PVPV arrested up to 35 women at three locations, including the Lilami area, a busy bazaar known for its second-hand clothing shops and carts, in downtown Herat.
- The women were later released after their male family members were summoned and warned.
- Today, a few dozen men and women from the Hazara neighborhood of Jebrail in western Herat took to the streets in protest. The Taliban opened fire on the protesters, reportedly killing a child and wounding several others.
- There is talk of wider protests in the coming days, including after Friday prayers.

[Karim Sadjadpour @ksadjadpour]

Why some Revolutionary Guard leaders in Tehran prefer continued conflict to peace: “They’re not sure they can survive another round of protests,” says a manufacturer. War, by contrast, would keep people indoors—and could rally some behind the regime." https://t.co/5IV7URNtuG

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

There’s something about the impunity in Israel’s conduct that we should all be alarmed by.

[UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett @SR_Afghanistan]

Dismayed by fresh reports of #Pakistan airstrikes in #Afghanistan and resulting civilian casualties. My condolences. I urge parties to de-escalate, exercise maximum restraint & respect international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian objects such as hospitals

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

“What kind of change is coming to Iran?”

If you are interested in Iran’s future, this piece in Foreign Affairs from December 2025 offers a thoughtful analysis.

https://t.co/K6AMKrp1oc

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Pakistan is carrying out airstrikes in Kabul, and we are all deeply worried for our families and friends back home.

There is never a quiet moment for the people of Afghanistan, and no end in sight to the cycle of suffering.

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Do you also wanna elaborate on how much of this work builds on the designs/plans and on the capacity developed within the Municipality from the times of the republic? We were working on building d very institutions, you guys were busy blowing back then, and take credit for now.

[Muhammad Jalal @MJalalAf]

People in Kabul praise the municipality’s efforts, new roads, cleaner streets, improved services & growing public satisfaction. One citizen says: “May Almighty keep our government peaceful, prosperous & strong.” #Kabul #Afghanistan

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

کشتار غیرنظامیان هرگز یک ‹فرصت› نیست. تأمل بر سیاست‌های گذشتهٔ پاکستان برای رهبران پیشین سودمندتر است تا تکرار روایت‌های آن کشور.

[Mustafa Mastoor @mmmastoor]

ما از زدودن و هدف قراردادن تروریست ها از هر جانبی و در هر کجایی ولو در کشور ما باشد استقبال میکنیم، همانطوریکه در ۲۰ سال گذشته این مبارزه را ادامه دادیم.
اکنون پاکستان، اکثر کشور های منطقه و فرامنطقه به این نتیجه رسیده اند که سیاست طالبان نه به مفاد افغانهاست و نه به مفاد ایشان و این یک فرصت است !

[Mariam Safi @OfficialMariamS]

God help us! The Taliban have more supporters in India than they do back home.

As Afghan researchers & civil society actors, we had long warned the region, including India that radicalism & misogyny has no borders, it reached our door, next it will reach yours. And here it is👇

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

This isn’t just a moment of professional solidarity; it’s also a testament to the fact that international accountability on gender and rights remains a central test of legitimacy for any “government”seeking international recognition. https://t.co/YV0CYCnlWf

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

For four years, Afghan women have warned that any rollback of women’s rights anywhere is a rollback everywhere. What happens to women in one country should be alarming to women everywhere.

The exclusion of women journalists during the Taliban foreign minister’s visit to India was not a small “oversight”, and the pushback from Indian women was powerful. While defending space for women isn’t just women’s work, I want to remind our fellow indian women that this is the daily reality Afghan women face under Taliban rule, where exclusion has become law.

It is also alarming that none of the Indian male journalists boycotted the press conference. This is a pattern we, women of Afghanistan, know too well. Male colleagues don’t always stay silent out of malice; it is the habit of patriarchal societies. Exclusion becomes normal faster than people expect.
@Geeta_Mohan @Vasudha156 @suhasinih

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Thank you @Smita_Sharma!
This isn’t just a moment of professional solidarity; it’s also a testament to the fact that international accountability on gender and rights remains a central test of legitimacy for any government seeking international recognition.

[Lotfullah Najafizada @LNajafizada]

To the many great Indian women journalists outraged by being excluded from a Taliban presser in Delhi, remember your Afghan sisters who have endured this and far worse, day after day, for over four years.

#InternationalDayoftheGirl

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

Taliban’s playbook is clear: take hostages to extract concessions, then release them to reset the game. An American detainee was just freed via Qatar’s mediation. The world, silent as ever, acts as if concessions are the only option.

[TOLOnews English @TOLONewsEnglish]

Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera reported that Amir Amiri, a former American detainee who was released by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan through Qatari mediation, arrived in Doha late last night.

According to the report, Adam Boehler, the U.S. President’s special envoy for prisoner affairs, has expressed gratitude for the Emir of Qatar’s role in securing the release of this American citizen.
#TOLOnews_English

[Muqaddesa Yourish @YourishM]

A significant milestone in Afghan women’s long and hard-fought struggle. Amid growing doubts about the credibility of multilateral institutions, enforcement will be difficult, but this is a powerful reminder that hope endures, and impunity is not inevitable.

[Int'l Criminal Court @IntlCrimCourt]

Situation in #Afghanistan: #ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II issues arrest warrants for Haibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani ⤵️ https://t.co/krawQGJQ52

[TIME @TIME]

What is the Strait of Hormuz and what impact could it have on international trade if Iran closes it?

“The closing of the Strait of Hormuz is something that would be extremely dangerous and not good for anybody,” said one concerned party

https://t.co/OQArqbGTLL

[The Spectator Index @spectatorindex]

BREAKING: Iranian state television says, 'every American citizen or military personnel in the region is now a target'.