Omar Sadr and Richard Bennett discuss human rights independent accountability mechanisms for Afghanistan. Richard Bennett has served as UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan, documenting Taliban abuses, advocating for accountability, and keeping international …
Khurasan’s Jewish Heritage: The Ancient Hebrew Manuscript in Bamyan
Omar Sadr and Herschel Hepler discuss Afghanistan’s Liturgical Quire, the oldest Hebrew and Judeo-Persian prayer manuscript in the world. This remarkable manuscript compiles three prayer genres into a single bounded book which in Judaism is …
Repackaging Oppression: Cheryl Benard’s Rhetoric and the Politics of Privilege
In May 2025, Cheryl Benard, a former RAND Corporation analyst and wife of Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US negotiator with the Taliban, penned down an article titled “Afghan Refugees Should Not Fear Repatriation,” in which …
Why Was A Political Settlement Not Achieved in Afghanistan: A Bargaining Challenge Approach
The post-2001 war in Afghanistan was fought between the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Taliban, and NATO led by the US from 2001-2021.
Gender Apartheid and Cultural Relativism under the Taliban and Iranian Regimes
While practices of mainstream Muslims across the world defy the limitation of fundamental rights, authoritarian and in certain cases sultanistic regimes in the Muslim
Human Rights, Relativism and the Taliban with Michael Goodhart
Omar Sadr talks to Michael Goodhart on human rights as a political contestation Michael Goodhart is Professor of Political Science and of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. His core research interests include democracy, human rights, (in)justice, and emancipatory …
Transitional Justice, Human Rights and Land Grabbing with Huma Saeed (Book Discussion)
Omar talks to Huma Saeed on Transitional Justice, Human Rights and Socio-Economic Harm Huma Saeed is an affiliated researcher at the Leuven Institute of Criminology, Belgium. Suggested readings: Huma Saeed, Transitional Justice and Socio-Economic Harm: Land Grabbing …
Zan, Zendagi, Azadi: Protests in Iran with Mohamad Machine-Chain
Omar talks to Mohamad Machine-Chain on protests in Iran. Mohamad Machine-Chian is a research scholar at the Center for Governance and Markets, University of Pittsburgh. He has authored several books on privatization, constitutionalism, immigration, and economic …
Rights, Legal Scholarship and the Study of the Taliban with Haroun Rahimi
Omar Sadr talks to Haroun Rahimi about the notion of rights, how the contestation between the liberal and Islamic notions of right took place, how the law scholars studied the totalitarian Taliban, and finally why …