The Afghan Times

About The Afghan Times

The Afghan Times is a women-run, youth-focused Afghan news outlet operating from exile in Ireland. Founded in August 2021 by journalist Salma Niazi, it publishes in English, Dari and Pashto — reporting on Afghanistan with a particular emphasis on women, children and education. It is entirely run by women, and its journalism has earned its founder international press-freedom and journalism awards. (It is a different outlet from The Afghanistan Times Daily, the Kabul-based English newspaper.)

About The Afghan Times

The Afghan Times describes itself through its tagline, "Latest English news from Afghanistan," and its practice matches its identity: an entirely women-run newsroom covering Afghanistan for readers at home and abroad. Youth is part of its character too — the outlet speaks to and employs young Afghan journalists, giving the next generation of the country's press a platform in exile.

The outlet's editorial center of gravity is women and children. Its homepage opens with a running count of the days since the Taliban banned Afghan girls from secondary education and barred women from universities — a stark editorial statement that frames everything the outlet publishes. Categories on the site include Afghanistan, Women, Children, Education, Sports and a "Know Their Stories" series, alongside an "Open Mic" podcast and a regular column.

Ownership is independent. Founder Salma Niazi, herself a journalist, established the outlet in August 2021 and later relocated to Ireland in 2024, where the outlet is now based. The newsroom's journalism has drawn international recognition: Niazi has been named One Young World Journalist of the Year, received the Lyra McKee Award for Bravery, and became the first Afghan to win the top prize at the AIPS Sport Media Awards — honors the outlet itself reports with evident pride.

History

The Afghan Times was founded in August 2021 — the very month of the Taliban's return to power — by Salma Niazi. Born in crisis, the outlet never had a pre-2021 incarnation to mourn; it was conceived from the start as a newsroom for the new reality, built by women journalists determined to keep reporting on Afghanistan as the space for independent media inside the country collapsed.

In 2024 Niazi relocated to Ireland, and the outlet's base moved with her. Operating from Ireland, the newsroom continued publishing through 2025 and into 2026, building out its sections and formats: news coverage, the "Know Their Stories" human-story series, the "Open Mic" interview podcast (approaching thirty episodes by mid-2025), and special magazine-style reports produced in partnership with the IUF Asia/Pacific — including a special report on child labour in Taliban-era Afghanistan and "Locked Room: Afghan Women's Voices."

The outlet's publishing record through 2026 confirms its continuity: dated stories from March and July 2026 appear on the site, and its newsletter keeps readers connected to new articles as they publish. For a newsroom founded in the chaos of August 2021, five years of continuous operation represents a significant achievement.

The range of a typical publishing period shows an outlet working several beats at once. Recent English output has included the silencing of female journalists across the southern provinces, thousands of women denied pension rights after decades of government service, and flood-affected women struggling to access basic sanitary supplies. Children's coverage has documented child labour in brick kilns, children given opium by mothers to soothe illness, and the trauma facing students in schools and madrassas. Alongside the news, the "Know Their Stories" series profiles individual Afghans, the "Open Mic" podcast carries long-form interviews, and a regular column offers commentary on developments such as Pakistan's airstrikes and the Nowruz new year. It is a distinctive editorial mix: hard news about women and children, human storytelling, and analysis — produced by an all-women team.

News coverage and topics

Women and children are the outlet's defining subjects. Its reporting documents the restrictions on Afghan women — education bans, employment exclusions, the silencing of female journalists in southern provinces — and the conditions facing Afghan children: child labour in brick kilns, trauma in schools, forced marriage, and the struggles of returnee families. The journalism is grounded in individual stories: a 13-year-old girl detained for working in boys' clothes, widows sustaining themselves through a Kandahar workshop, women denied pension rights after decades of civil service.

Education coverage is a standing beat, tracking the school system's collapse for girls and the rise of covert and online learning as workarounds. The outlet also covers Afghan current affairs more broadly — Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions, regional diplomacy, migration policy — and sports, where its founder's own award-winning reporting on women's athletics has set the tone.

The "Open Mic" podcast extends the outlet into audio interviews, while the special magazine reports with IUF Asia/Pacific — on child labour, women's food insecurity and women's voices under restriction — give the outlet a long-form, campaigning dimension alongside daily news.

Those special reports deserve attention as a distinctive format. Produced with the IUF Asia/Pacific, the magazine editions — "Child Labour in Taliban's Afghanistan," "Locked Room: Afghan Women's Voices," and the World Food Day report on women and food insecurity — are downloadable publications the outlet also offers in print on request. They represent a kind of journalism between news and advocacy: deeply reported, designed for campaigning use, and aimed at international audiences. For a small exile newsroom, sustaining that output alongside daily publishing is a mark of editorial ambition.

Languages and platforms

The Afghan Times publishes primarily in English — its tagline and main edition — with Dari and Pashto content also appearing on the site, as its latest-stories stream confirms. The trilingual output serves the international community in English while keeping the outlet accessible to Afghan readers in the national languages.

The website, theafghantimes.com, is the main platform, organized into topic categories with article counts displayed — Afghanistan, Women, Children, Education, Sports and more. The outlet runs a newsletter subscription for readers who want new articles delivered directly, and its "Open Mic" podcast adds an audio dimension. Contact is available at info@theafghantimes.com, which the site also lists for requesting printed copies of its special magazine reports.

Location and operating status

The Afghan Times is an exile-operated outlet based in Ireland, where founder Salma Niazi relocated in 2024. The exact Irish city of its base is not publicly confirmed. It has no newsroom inside Afghanistan.

As of October 2026 the outlet is active, with 2026-dated stories, an ongoing newsletter and recent podcast and magazine output confirming continued publication. For directory purposes it is profiled as an Afghan outlet — its country of service and the subject of its journalism — operating physically from Ireland. It should not be confused with The Afghanistan Times Daily, the separate Kabul-based English newspaper.

Official website and contact

The official website is https://theafghantimes.com, publishing in English, Dari and Pashto, with a newsletter readers can subscribe to. General and magazine-copy inquiries can go to info@theafghantimes.com.

WorldNM is an independent directory and does not own, operate or represent The Afghan Times. For news tips or other inquiries, please use the outlet's own channels.

Sources and last verified

This profile was verified on 13 October 2026 against theafghantimes.com (checked live: site tagline, category structure, dated 2025–2026 stories, awards reported for founder Salma Niazi, magazine/special-report output, newsletter and contact address). Founding details (August 2021, founder Salma Niazi) and the 2024 relocation to Ireland are corroborated by secondary sources. As with all directory entries, facts reflect what was publicly verifiable on the verification date.