"If the Taliban catch one of our editors, at least he won't be able to name the others"

'How do female-headed households survive under the Taliban?';

'Taliban silence women in media in Kandahar';

"The Taliban continue with their restrictions on women."

All these are some of the headlines of the

digital newspaper , a women's and women's newspaper.

A medium that was born after the return of the Taliban to the government of Afghanistan with one objective: to

.

In August 2022, a year after the Taliban took control of Kabul, a journalist and a group of volunteer editors made a decision:

.

With no funding other than anonymous donations,

is tasked with showing how the Taliban

, segregate them, deny them human rights, keep them prisoner, without education,

alone

"We are necessary because we are facing a regime that is building a gender apartheid in Afghanistan," they say.

Zahra Nader

is its founder and the editor-in-chief, along with her, reporters in exile and in situ, the ones most in danger, who have to hide their profession to avoid being persecuted;

. "

The one speaking is Nader

and others, only a few brave ones, in situ, risking their lives every time they publish information -of the seven editors who are in Afghanistan, five are women.

Her job and that of those abroad is, in addition to covering women's issues and "the things the Taliban are trying to silence," to protect those on the ground.

We are needed because we are up against a regime that is building gender apartheid in Afghanistan

Zahra Nader

The Taliban have targeted the

after the BBC's Persian Service carried out a report on the newspaper.

They

and who are publishing the annoying articles from Nader's newspaper.

"We try to keep our colleagues on the ground safe (...) That is our daily fight. Because our colleagues in Afghanistan

," says Nader.

In fact, none of the

reporters in Afghanistan know each other, nor do they know where each one is.

they do not sign their real names on any of their articles.

They are only connected with the editors and the team that lives outside the country.

The reason is obvious,

Zahra Nader, Founder and Managing Editor of 'Zan Times'.ZAN TIMES

They do not charge, they do not have sufficient funds nor do they receive them

.

Everything that arrives goes to pay the editors who are in Afghanistan.

The rest don't mind not getting paid for working because

goes much further than a media outlet as it is known in the West.

It is yet another struggle faced by the founders and editors in exile.

They do not know which door to call to request more funds, but they are clear that even if they do not arrive,

.

Last October,

spoke at the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security and it was there that she gave the keys to why they risk their lives every day and why they have to exercise her profession and her freedom of the press hundreds of kilometers from her home: "Zan means woman. And

is our way of saying that it is our moment, that we are going to fight, that we are going to tell our truth, even if no one is there listening, even if nobody does what we really need them to do. We are there and we will tell our truth."

It is our way of saying that it is our moment, that we are going to fight, that we are going to tell our truth, even if no one is listening.

Zahra Nader

"Women are being denied the right to education," her writing continues, "to work, basically all fundamental human rights, but

. These women are unarmed and only they shout "bread, work, freedom. We shouldn't refer to these women as victims. They are fighters."

Zan Time

s is the dream and the weapon to fight against violence and the attack against the Human Rights of women, homosexuals, the disabled and all those who are repressed by the Taliban.

It started long before they seized control of Kabul in 2021 and resumed power in Afghanistan after 20 years.

It was born in the head of a little Zahra who

then the deprivation of education for being a refugee, then the return to Kabul in 2011 and the beginning of her career where the rejection of being a woman was added to the emptiness of her childhood

In one of her first jobs a male colleague told her - "to my face" - that

.

However, no one had ever offered him to do any of that.

It is when she clicked in her head, if in 2011 with a government away from the Taliban, this happened, what would happen to her with the Taliban once again at the fore?

Since its launch in August 2022,

.

On December 18, this was one of their reports: "In the last 48 hours, five women and girls have attempted suicide or died by suicide in the provinces of Nimraz and Ghor, according to hospital records. Two adolescents died in Ghor while that there were three attempts in a single 24-hour period at Nimraz...".

How can they report being persecuted?

How can they find someone to tell them what is happening?

How can they ultimately do their job?

"So far, we have been able to bypass the Taliban's censorship," explains Nader, "because we don't ask them and we go directly to the people, giving them the assurance that if they talk to us, we will try to hide their identity (... )

. This is our responsibility, to be here. And I guess we have no choice but to overcome our fear and carry on with our work," she says.

Zan Times was

born from a need, that of recovering "our autonomy and self-determination", they say in the newsroom,

.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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