A year on from the ousting of Assad

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  Damascus, Syria — “Hold your head high, you’re a free Syrian.” The refrain of this Arabic song—now widely embraced as the unofficial anthem of a new Syria—echoes throughout Damascus. It blares from market loudspeakers, rings out during celebrations in the central square, and is even sung by the man offering traditional coffee to new arrivals at the airport. For decades, many Syrians lived with lowered gazes under the authoritarian rule of the Al-Assad family. The regime maintained an expansive surveillance system in which the feared Mukhabarat , the intelligence network, kept the population in check. Remaining silent was often the safest choice—until the Arab Spring ignited an uprising, and Assad’s fierce response plunged the nation into a ten-year civil war. Today, Syrians are openly and energetically marking the first anniversary of what they regard as their liberation from Assad’s government. The celebration follows a rapid rebel offensive on December 8 last year, led by fo...

After the Taliban's university ban, a brother and sister's future would be divided.

 Marwa, who would have been the first woman in her Afghan family to attend university, will now have to watch helplessly while her brother enrols in school alone.


In the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, where their liberties have been systematically eroded over the past year, women are no longer permitted to attend universities.


At her Kabul family home, Marwa told AFP that even ordering the beheading of women would have been preferable to this restriction.


"If we are to be so unlucky, I wish that we hadn't been born at all. I'm sorry for my existence in the world.


"We are being treated worse than animals. Animals can go anywhere on their own, but we girls don't have the right


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