Part of a series: Militia Spotlight or see Part 1: How to Use Militia Spotlight One of Iran's most trusted lieutenants in the Iraqi militia scene is loudly rattling his saber against the U.S particularly within the Supreme Leader’s office and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) This positions him as a key advocate for advancing these views in Iraq Haidari addressed a group of seminary students in Iraq about recent developments in the region (Figure 1) He claimed that in the wake of recent events in Gaza the United States and Israel would likely turn their attention to Iraq carrying out strikes against the muqawama and even potentially targeting Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani the country's highest Shia Muslim authority He further stated that the incoming Trump administration would soon usher in an escalatory phase noting the president-elect's supposed statements to this effect He also emphasized the need to “be ready and read the enemy with realism.” U.S.-Israeli plans for this "next phase" are built on three pillars: first the “reactivation of terrorist takfiri [excommunicator] groups,” presumably referring to the Islamic State and other Sunni jihadist groups; second Israeli strikes targeting muqawama and non-muqawama entities in Iraq; third the assassination of prominent Iraqi figures “There is no ceiling for Israel and the United States,” signaling an unrestricted scope of action “If Iraq’s turn comes—and I believe that is inevitable—the United States embassy [in Baghdad]...whose content this embassy will transform into a military and destructive base leading [operations] in Iraq...if the decision is made to change the regime and the face of Iraq.” Haidari then emphasized the importance of taking proactive measures against these purported plans he highlighted the necessity of perceiving the danger which he explains as “taking the initiative” and “shifting from a discourse of moderation and centrism to one of readiness.” He firmly stated that this is not a time to discuss de-escalation; rather and strike before being struck.” More specifically he emphasized the necessity of taking “pre-emptive measures against the United States and terrorist groups in any country...The United States needs to feel the danger the United States must experience real danger in our countries to deter this vast global project.” Iran's self-styled "axis" is desperate to restore a modicum of deterrence against Israeli and U.S the United States is the main risk (for now) military knows exactly who to strike within their leadership if necessary and has the intelligence and reach to do so on any given day embassy in Baghdad as their best remaining point of leverage: a community of Americans who are always within striking distance albeit well-fortified and covered by a U.S deterrent capacity that has been vigorously exercised since 2019.  The Washington Institute seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them The Institute is a 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax-deductible Criminal prosecutions only part of solution as landmark conviction sheds light on complex issue Five months before she was murdered by her new husband Ruqia Haidari met the Australian federal police and told them she was being forced into the marriage by her mother But the 20-year-old did not want the police – or the support workers who were also in the meeting or any of the other people she spoke to about the impending marriage – to take the matter further and 3300 km away from her family’s regional Victorian home in Shepparton That murder hung heavily over this week’s sentencing of Haidari’s mother the first person to be convicted for the crime of forced marriage in Australia Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup It was completely removed from the proceedings and yet intrinsically linked: would there have been a forced marriage prosecution if Haidari had not been killed making redundant her wish for police to remain silent about what she had told them The question is not only relevant to Haidari’s case but in considering why there have been so few prosecutions – when more than 500 referrals regarding forced marriage have been made to the AFP since 2018 a lecturer at the University of Canberra and an expert in forced marriage and can only then retrospectively prosecute because she died “That is something we need to be thinking really carefully about in terms of our critical response to this issue.” Neither the Victorian county court – where Haidari’s mother Sakina Muhammad Jan was sentenced this week – nor the Western Australia supreme court made adverse findings about the police response The Australian federal police says they provided Haidari with options for support including suggesting that the AFP engage with her family members on her behalf to prevent the marriage or for Haidari to leave her family and find accommodation and assistance through the Red Cross Support for Trafficked Persons program (STPP) “Haidari declined accommodation assistance and stated she did not want the AFP to speak with her mother or other family members,” they say in a statement which often coexist in instances of forced marriage the AFP engages closely with vulnerable persons to offer support in circumstances where the person feels unable to leave their situation “A person being subjected to a forced marriage may not wish to leave their circumstances due to fear of shame or punishment Often this fear is stronger than the person’s desire not to marry “The AFP’s position is to accommodate the person’s wishes Removing a person from an anticipated forced marriage situation or interceding with family members without the consent of the victim risks creating a more harmful domestic situation for a vulnerable person.” There should also be expertise such as interpreters who can speak a range of languages and those who can formulate international escape plans for those who may be trafficked overseas Amid the thicket of complexity about how to deal with forced marriage “What people are asking for the most is an opportunity to be able to resolve conflict within their families,” Vidal says “When we place the response to this purely in the criminal justice system we lose the opportunity to do that … we need a continuum of responses to meet people where they are and make sure we’re keeping them safe while meeting their needs all the stars have to be aligned at the moment for us to get that response.” Last financial year alone, the AFP received 91 reports of forced marriage this week said it was “the most reported slavery-like offence” reported to the force The federal government is considering what more can be done. On Monday, the attorney general’s department released a consultation paper regarding the implementation of civil protections against forced marriage Free daily newsletterOur Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day telling you what’s happening and why it matters “The criminal justice response to forced marriage serves an important role as a deterrent sending a clear message that this conduct is not accepted in Australia,” the paper notes “Stronger civil protections and remedies for forced marriage would complement the criminal justice response providing practical tools that can achieve preventative and time-critical outcomes for victim-survivor safety and wellbeing.” The paper notes that civil forced marriage protection orders were introduced in the UK in 2008 and that 200-250 of these orders were granted each year in England and Wales between 2014 and 2023 The government said that feedback on the paper would guide its future responses other criminal prosecutions for forced marriage will make their way through the courts A New South Wales man has pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted forced marriage relating to two young people and is expected to be sentenced later this month A suppression order prevents naming the man due to the likelihood of his victims being identified within the community Screen grab from a Australian federal police video of the 2021 arrest in Shepparton of Sakina Muhammad Jan for the forced marriage of her daughter Ruqia Haidari Photograph: Australian federal police‘You abused your power’The county court in Melbourne heard this week that Jan a Hazara who fled Afghanistan after her husband was killed by the Taliban to a man you had never met,” Judge Fran Dalziel said in sentencing “You say you would have agreed to the marriage because your family told you to marry him “Your first daughter was born when you were still in your early teens.” Her youngest child was Haidari – who was wedded to her first husband at age 15 and had decided she did not want to go down the same path again “You were the trusted and only living parent of the victim It was your acts of coercion that caused her to enter the marriage,” Dalziel said as the person with whom she lived and respected to override her desire not to marry Mr Halimi.” Dalziel told Jan that while she had good intentions in arranging the marriage The police and support workers who met Haidari in Shepparton on that August day in 2019 may feel the same way “Whilst you believed you were acting in her best interests you were not in fact doing so,” Dalziel said Bamyan, Afghanistan. Photo by Zabihullah Habibi from Unsplash ince the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the country has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Nearly eight million Afghans have fled their homes Afghan refugees are caught between restrictive U.S policies delaying their resettlement and forced deportations from host countries stripping them of desperately needed sanctuary At Displaced International, many of us have personally experienced forced migration. The U.S. resettlement process—marked by rigorous security screenings and medical evaluations—aims to protect American communities while ensuring refugees can rebuild their lives Afghan refugees in the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and P1–P4 categories have already undergone these stringent checks It is unconscionable that those vetted and approved now face further delays under the U.S Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) Executive Order Exempting Afghan refugees from this Executive Order is not just an administrative adjustment—it is a moral and strategic necessity over 134,000 SIV applications have been submitted Thousands of vetted Afghan allies remain in limbo while those on humanitarian parole in the U.S live under constant threat of losing legal status commitments to those who risked their lives for the country and burden already overwhelmed neighboring states The crisis is compounded by overlapping challenges Over 23.7 million Afghans require urgent humanitarian assistance with 11.6 million facing catastrophic food insecurity About 3.2 million people are internally displaced struggling in overcrowded camps with limited access to essentials and harsh winters—further devastate livelihoods Every day matters for those seeking refuge and rebuilding shattered lives Forced deportations violate international principles which prohibits returning refugees to danger without considering individual circumstances risks sending thousands back into the violence they fled must exempt Afghan refugees from restrictive executive measures to honor the sacrifices of those who supported its missions Pakistan must uphold its humanitarian commitments—halting forced returns and working with international agencies for dignified The stakes are the safety and dignity of millions of Afghans who have endured unspeakable hardship We urge policymakers in both countries and the broader international community to set aside bureaucratic hurdles and prioritize this humanitarian imperative Afghan refugees must receive the protection they need—through resettlement or voluntary repatriation—until conditions in Afghanistan tangibly improve www.diplomaticourier.com Subscribe here is a lot like any other dedicated young soccer player AZATULLAH HAIDARI: When I’m on the field I forget everything problems with English because it’s my fourth language so that’s why sometimes get I in trouble with BA: Azat says he started playing soccer from a young age… with one particular ambition on his mind Trying a lot to get into the national team Azat began playing as a goalie for the Afghan youth national team when he was 16-years-old Azat and his family were in particular danger from the Taliban Soon they fled to Kabul International Airport to try and catch a flight to the United States there is no one to protect you and there’s no safety BA: His family waited for three days to get out Leaving the country wasn’t a guarantee for everyone AH: One of our national soccer team players fall down from a U.S BA: That teammate was 17-year-old Zaki Anwari It was gruesome and only one part of a chaotic series of last days in Afghanistan kids are getting injured and everybody is losing their friends shooting—and [the] Taliban from [the] other side trying to BA: Azat and his family were some of the 1800 Afghan refugees who were resettled in Oklahoma following their escape Oklahoma took on one of the largest groups of Afghan refugees of any state People that are waiting for us and waving to us and that makes us really how the people in Tulsa are really kind and really friendly BA: Azat benefitted from that Tulsa warmth after returning to the sport he loves He began playing with FC Tulsa’s Elite youth camp and the Blitz Academy soccer program so Tulsans stepped up to give him lifts to practice He says his family has always been supportive of his sports career and wanted him to continue after arriving in the U.S He told me that he believes [in] me all the time and that’s why he’s supported me a lot to get back in shape and play soccer in the U.S BA: At the time of this recorded interview Azat says he had just come back from a tournament in New York This issue is preventing our website from loading properly. 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LOGIN Ahmad Haidari last saw his wife and four children on a warm summer day in early August 2021 His 1-year-old daughter followed him around the house she was so interested in me,” Haidari told me earlier this year from his new American home vowed to protect after its withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago But for tens of thousands of Afghans like him A systematic analysis of the available government data suggests that by April 2023 at least three out of five petitions by Afghans who sought protection for their role in the war were still pending some living in acute danger while they wait for administrative roadblocks to be cleared Left: Haidari on a mission in Kandahar in 2020 Right: Exfiltrating special forces in 2021 seen through night-vision goggles.Provided by Ahmad Haidari American instructors taught Haidari how to land in confined areas he worked in mixed teams made up of both Afghan and U.S Afghan pilots like Haidari would drop American special forces and fetch them out after their night raids “Then, in 2019, our mentors said they were done here,” Haidari said. The Trump administration had intensified negotiations with the Taliban and decided to scale back U.S The security situation soon grew worse across Afghanistan a rocket-propelled grenade flew at Haidari’s helicopter “There was no time to think,” Haidari said “The good thing was that the ground was wet with water and we just sank in.” Another pilot managed to land next to Haidari and rescued the pilot and his crew before they could be captured by Taliban troops Haidari was sent home for what would be the last time As his little girl followed him around the house Haidari was haunted by the thought of what the Taliban would have done to him had he been captured Back in the air a week later, Haidari frantically tried to evacuate military bases before the Taliban overpowered them. On Aug. 15, 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the Taliban seized the presidential palace Haidari’s commander ordered him to fly government officials out to Uzbekistan Uzbek soldiers confiscated his cellphone and logbook They transferred him to a military base that felt like a jail to Haidari !function(e,n,i,s){var d="InfogramEmbeds";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js"); scrambled to process cases of Afghans who had applied for humanitarian parole a status that grants emergency access to the U.S “It is a crucial life and death situation for the parole beneficiaries in Afghanistan, and we need to complete these cases as soon as possible,” USCIS branch chief John “Wally” Bird wrote in an email to his team on Aug “Please stop work on everything except the Afghan cases.” It was too late. On Aug. 15, 2021, for every Afghan who had received an SIV since the inception of the program, another ally was still in Afghanistan waiting for their application to be processed, according to government data and estimates by the Association of Wartime Allies many more Afghans like Haidari now faced retaliation by the Taliban who had been in the jail-like military base in Uzbekistan for 10 days was still desperately trying to reach his U.S he relied on an Afghan commander held with him who eventually managed to connect with the U.S “They promised to take out our families,” Haidari told me On Aug. 30, 2021, as the last evacuation flights left Kabul, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had gotten many Afghan allies out, but many still remained. “Our commitment to them has no deadline,” he told the world in a televised statement officers transferred Haidari to another base in Uzbekistan It was his first time in the United States A resettlement agency brought him to Birmingham where he had to apply for asylum to reach permanent residence status employed by the Afghan military rather than the U.S was never eligible for an SIV.) At this point Haidari was still hoping to swiftly reunite with his family Today, the outlook for the Afghan allies left behind is bleak. Individual U.S. soldiers and veterans still have lists of people they try to evacuate. But with the U.S. Embassy in Kabul closed representative for the required interviews is a major hurdle “Please be advised: The United States is unable to provide protection or support to you while you await a decision on your refugee case,” the Department of State communicates in an information sheet for Afghans “Case processing can be lengthy (potentially 12-18 months) so please be aware that this process could require living in and supporting yourself and your family in a third country for a substantial amount of time until case processing is complete.” A spokesperson for the State Department said the Biden administration had streamlined processes and was issuing SIVs to Afghan partners at record rates More than 28,000 Afghan refugee cases were being processed as of July 2024 The plight of wartime allies has mobilized an unlikely coalition of veterans and human rights organizations that have rallied around the Afghan Adjustment Act New processing centers would speed up the treatment of pending applications Afghan allies in all categories would have a clearer path to permanent residency A small cohort of lawmakers blocked the bill They were building on anti-Muslim sentiments from former President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin Biden’s focus has shifted to Ukraine and Gaza The plight of Afghans in a bureaucratic quagmire is unlikely to be a high priority under a Trump administration but it’s also not clear that momentum would happen under Democratic presidential candidate and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris “I am concerned that neither administration will be prioritizing the protection of Afghan allies.” “They went to my house and found some military stuff,” he said His wife only told him of the assault months later for fear that he would put himself at risk to rescue them the Taliban started a fight with his father and shot at his cousin “This all happened because of me,” he said Haidari finally received a response from USCIS and was granted asylum allowing him to file a “follow-to-join” request for his family in February 2024 Haidari was informed that a previous application to reunite with his family a plea to speed up the cases of Haidari’s wife and four children remained unanswered Haidari’s youngest daughter is now almost four and refuses to talk to him when he calls on WhatsApp “She told me to come home so many times,” Haidari said “I explained the situation to the older ones she doesn’t know.” Haidari’s other daughter His two boys learn in school that people outside of Afghanistan are not Muslims Haidari’s wife tells him she is growing tired of this life They both know that going back to Afghanistan is too dangerous for Haidari while inviting her and the children to the U.S meeting in a third country is not an option “There is no choice but to be patient,” Haidari said Haidari asked me to write about the families of the pilots who were killed they are totally forgotten by the United States Ariane Luthi is an international reporter and 2024 Pulitzer Center Fellow Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now Please follow our comment guidelines The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day Specialty rates for students and faculty. Lock in your rates for longer. Unlock powerful intelligence for your team. Travel in Focus‘I didn’t want to surrender to the extremists’: The female tour guide showcasing Afghanistan’s beautiful sideIn a country where women are banned from talking loudly in public and even looking out of the windows, one of the few female tour guides in Afghanistan, Fatima Haidari, tells Tamara Davison why she continues to share the natural paradise of her birthplace remotely from Italy after claiming asylum As Taliban fighters closed in on Herat, the third largest city in Afghanistan, in 2021, Fatima Haidari was faced with one of the hardest decisions of her life. Recognised as Afghanistan’s first female tour guide she was used to being challenged about her work – but this was different It wasn’t the first time that the Taliban had been in control and those who lived through the first government between 1996 and 2001 knew all too well what their return meant Fatima’s life was in immediate danger – not only because she was an independent woman but also because her work showcased Afghanistan’s heritage to the world “I didn’t want to leave at first because my parents, my family, everybody, and everything I had was there in Herat,” the 26-year-old guide says. But her friends begged her to leave while she could, warning Fatima that if she was caught “they not only would kill you – but also your loved ones”. On 21 August 2021, less than a week after the Taliban reclaimed power, Fatima fled to Italy It’s been almost four years since the Islamic fundamentalist group regained control of Afghanistan after US forces withdrew. Initial hopes that the regime would be less oppressive were dashed when top Taliban officials – who the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently planned to seek arrest warrants for – enforced strict and brutal interpretations of Sharia law almost immediately The rights of Afghan women and girls have been obliterated this time. First, it came in the form of bans on secondary education and the closure of beauty salons – but it’s since become more and more extreme “I’m one of the very, very fortunate women from Afghanistan who was able to leave the country,” Fatima acknowledges, having been able to build a home in Milan after claiming asylum in Italy Fatima has also found an interesting way to continue advocating for the cultural preservation of her country and its women from exile, even though she’s thousands of miles away. Supported by adventure tour company Untamed Borders, Fatima runs remote tours in an attempt to showcase what Herat and central Afghanistan have to offer from afar she weaves Afghanistan’s rich history with experiences of growing up as a woman painting a unique and deeply personal depiction of the central Asian country Read more: Afghanistan is surprise top holiday destination for 2024, says travel company “I just didn’t want to surrender to what the Taliban is doing out there,” Fatima says the one-hour remote tours serving as an act of rebellion in themselves During the virtual gathering, guests can learn directly from Fatima about what life is really like in Afghanistan. They may be guided around Herat Citadel, the spectacular Blue Mosque and the old bazaar while learning about tea culture guests are taken around central Afghanistan travelling through the highlands between Kabul and Herat and discovering Afghan heritage and the city of Bamiyan which Fatima describes as “like a paradise” Fatima’s work in tourism didn’t start in exile and memories of growing up in Afghanistan also shape the stories she shares during virtual tours Threats regarding her work as a tour guide before 2021 weren’t uncommon and she was forced to dress in long black clothes to detract any unwanted attention Read more: Weird and wonderful discoveries in Tashkent – six places you should visit in the Uzbek capital the remote tours fill a unique space for tourism in more off-beat or dangerous locations Remote tourism seldom makes up for seeing a place in real life but virtual tours have become more mainstream since the Covid pandemic “We get to use technology to teach people about the countries they dream to travel to but cannot,” she explains adding it’s a nice alternative for elderly visitors or those who can’t afford adventurous travel the remote tours are all the more powerful as they provide a safe space for her to share an unfiltered perspective allowing people from around the world to hear voices being silenced too often in Afghanistan “My guests really love hearing women’s stories from someone who’s lived the story,” she says “And it’s a way for me to defy what the Taliban is doing right now to women in Afghanistan.” Read more: The Taliban take over Afghanistan’s only luxury hotel It also gives her a chance to spread awareness about Afghanistan in a way that’s not covered by news headlines it’s not all about war – it has a beautiful side,” she notes acknowledging the juxtaposition of tourism in a country with so few freedoms Afghanistan has been the graveyard for empires but pieces of their culture and history remain and need to be explored positively.” Not only can Fatima’s remote tours help inform global audiences they’re also having an impact closer to home Part of the proceeds from her tours support a girls’ education charity operating in Afghanistan, providing vital funds that provide language classes for Afghan girls. She has also launched an association called Alefba from Italy to further support the girls’ education back home “One of the biggest reasons Taliban are restricting women is because they’re scared of the power that women in the country hold,” she added explaining that she remains inspired by the women of Afghanistan and their resilience in the face of such oppression Fatima also hopes that her nation’s magic and cultural essence will survive long after the oppressive regime While she loves her adoptive home of Italy Fatima longs to reunite with her family and hopes to work on reviving Afghanistan’s tourism from within.” “I definitely would love to go back to join my family hopeful about returning to in-person guiding one day “My knowledge and insights are more use in Afghanistan.” Fatima’s next virtual tours will take place on 1 April 2025 and 13 May 2025. Visit Untamed Borders to book your spot More aboutAfghanistanTalibanCentral AsiaJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies {"adUnitPath":"71347885/_main_independent/gallery","autoGallery":true,"disableAds":true,"gallery":[{"data":{"title":"Fatima guiding in Herat, Afghanistan","description":"Fatima guiding in Herat, Afghanistan","caption":"Fatima guiding in Herat, Afghanistan govt and politics"},{"score":0.66261,"label":"/law govt and politics/armed forces"},{"score":0.635708,"label":"/religion and spirituality/islam"},{"score":0.629866,"label":"/family and parenting/children"},{"score":0.607334,"label":"/law one of the few female tour guides in Afghanistan tells Tamara Davison why she continues to share the natural paradise of her birthplace remotely from Italy after claiming asylum Sakina Muhammad Jan to serve at least 12 months in prison in Australia’s first forced marriage conviction Ruqia Haidari wanted to marry for love she had an arranged marriage at the age of just 15 with the relationship ending in divorce when she was 20 In the eyes of Shepparton’s Afghan Hazara community – where Haidari’s family settled after fleeing the Taliban – she was deemed a “bewa” meaning she had lost her value due to the divorce It was Haidari’s mother’s desire to restore her reputation that led to her coercing her daughter into a second marriage this time to 25-year-old Perth man Mohammad Ali Halimi Their loveless marriage lasted less than two months Halimi murdered his 21-year-old wife in their suburban Perth unit on 18 January 2020 the Australian federal police (AFP) charged Haidari’s mother After a two-week trial in May, Sakina Muhammad Jan became the first person in Australia to be found guilty of arranging a forced marriage since the practice was criminalised more than 10 years ago Sakina Muhammad Jan (second from left) was found guilty of coercing her daughter Photograph: James Ross/AAPJan returned to the county court in Melbourne on Monday where Judge Fran Dalziel sentenced her to three years in prison with 12 months to be served before she is released under several conditions including being of good behaviour could also face deportation back to Afghanistan which would be a “very grave thing” for a Hazara woman “You abused your position as her [Haidari’s] mother as the person with whom she loved and respected,” Dalziel said “While you believed you were acting in her best interests She said that she believed it was the first time a person had been sentenced for a forced marriage but noted that sentences were pending in New South Wales face a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment In a statement released before Jan’s sentencing on Monday said forced marriage “is the most reported slavery-like offence” to the AFP The AFP said they received 90 reports of forced marriage in 2022-23 alone “The Australian government is working with state and territory governments to tackle the issue of forced marriage including by exploring enhanced civil protections and remedies for those affected,” Dreyfus said as he announced a public consultation process on potential reforms “Everyone in Australia should be free to choose if Dalziel said she accepted the prosecution’s position that Jan’s offending was a “mid-range” example of forced marriage and rejected her protestations to police and a forensic psychologist that she had not known her daughter did not want to marry “It must be made clear to everyone in our country that forced marriage is against the law and that forcing someone to take part in a marriage against their will leads to significant consequences for the offender … real punishment will follow such an offence.” Sitting in the courtroom were more than a dozen supporters of Jan Even more were turned away from the full courtroom sat impassively and did not speak during the hearing But she became animated and emotional while being asked by her lawyer to sign orders related to her sentence Haidari’s mother allegedly forced her to marry a man in an Islamic religious ceremony before it ended in divorce The prosecution argued that after the divorce Haidari was viewed as not having “good prospects for marriage” prompting her mother to begin the search for a new husband A matchmaker and mutual friend of Haidari and Halimi became involved and arranged for Halimi to fly to Shepparton in June 2019 to meet his prospective wife a counsellor and police she did not want to marry Halimi Prosecutor Darren Renton SC said Haidari had told a friend she “wanted to marry for love” and did not want a second arranged marriage The pair were wedded in a religious ceremony in November 2019 that was not officially registered after Halimi paid a bride dowry of $14,000 to Jan Sentencing remarks from Halimi’s murder trial in the Western Australia supreme court laid bare the strained and brief marriage Haidari rejected her husband’s attempts at sexual intimacy complaining that she would sleep late and did not cook or clean justice Bruno Fiannaca said Halimi’s police interview after the murder revealed he knew that Haidari had been pressured into marriage who has been serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 19 years also told police he found documentation showing Haidari had gone to police to find out if she could be forced to marry During a hearing in the county court last week the defence and prosecution agreed there was no evidence that Jan knew Halimi would murder her daughter But Renton argued that the “ultimate risk” of forced marriage was that people could be murdered He said Jan breached the trust of her daughter as the sole living parent of Haidari – after the Taliban murdered her father when she was one month old He argued that Jan, who demonstrated no insight into the offence or remorse for her actions, needed to be imprisoned to deter others from engaging in the practice Defence barrister Andrew Buckland had argued against a sentence of imprisonment saying the verdict was a “source of great shame” for Jan who spoke no English and had never attended school Jan herself had entered into a forced marriage at 12 or 13 years old before having her first child a year later Buckland said she was “perhaps only doing what she knew” He argued Jan believed she was doing the right thing for her daughter under community pressures Dalziel found that there was no suggestion Jan knew Halimi was violent but that she had still breached her responsibility “All her family were within the small Hazara community in Shepparton “She would have known that not taking part in the marriage would have raised questions about you and the rest of her family within the Hazara community “She was concerned not only about your anger but about your standing within the Hazara community.” Some others shouted and cried outside the courtroom With reporting by Australian Associated Press British-Iraqi drag queen and filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi’s feature debut Layla is a fabulous and joyful exploration of Arab identity and queer desire Told through the prism of a roller-coaster romantic relationship between titular character Layla (Bilal Hasna) a technicolour British-Palestinian drag performer an amiable white gay man working in finance who falls under their spell after a performance at a corporate Pride event Al-Kadhi’s is a refreshing take on both gay romance and Arab familial relations As the unlikely couple navigate each other’s worlds in an attempt to love and be loved in return they come up against a series of challenges and prejudices from their families - both chosen and biological - as well as their own internal hang-ups and predilections Although Al-Kadhi began writing the film six years ago its release now feels like a serendipitous correction of the belief that being queer and Arab In a year where self-styled ‘liberal’ celebrities such as Bill Maher have used their platforms to mock queer people standing in solidarity with Palestine while barely concealing their own glee at the (entirely made up) idea of them being killed for their sexuality Layla is a welcome antidote of queer Arab hope but I think it’s good that it’s coming out now,” Al-Kadhi tells me over a video call on the day of the film’s release “It’s such a hopeful film and it’s a positive take on queer Arab identity Niloufar Haidari: What was the inspiration behind making the film Amrou Al-Kadhi: What I was exploring at the time in all my short films was the idea of code-switching – this idea of who we are in different environments and the contradictions of intersectionality I really wanted to tell a story about a queer person of colour who has to exist in so many different places I think love is an avenue where we change who we are quite immediately if we like someone and we’re not careful I really wanted to explore a queer Arab person negotiating every aspect of themselves a love situation is going to be a great way to do that NH: I was surprised by how sympathetic I felt towards the love interest works in finance – is the type of person I would usually dislike AAK: I think there is a version of this film where Layla is a victim and Max is the ‘bad boy’ who fucks them up but I don’t like stories where people of colour are the victim to white people and don’t have any agency Part of the reason I wanted to make Max so likeable – or so real rather – is I didn’t want anyone to be a victim or a villain I like the fact that Layla is really badly behaved in the film because I just don’t think minorities get to do that NH: What has it been like for you as someone who is both Arab and queer to witness the thinly veiled homophobia and Islamophobia disguised as a commitment to upholding ‘human rights’ that we have seen this past year this idea that there’s homophobia in Arab countries therefore all Arab countries should be bombed I think in a lot of representations of queerness and Arabness it’s all about how being Arab and being Muslim are completely inhospitable to queer identity – in a lot of those films you see Arabs rejecting their queer kids What I wanted to do in Layla was see a queer character reject their Arabness and their religion because of their own internalised racism and internalised issues Layla’s journey is really a queer person opening up to their heritage and their culture and about celebrating the intersection of queer Arab identity “I don’t like stories where people of colour are the victim to white people and don’t have any agency .. because I just don’t think minorities get to do that” – Amrou Al-Kadhi NH: Layla spends a lot of the film hiding themselves from their family because of what they assume their reaction to their true identity will be to the point that they lie to Max about their sister having cut them off Whereas when they do finally come out to her their sister is not only completely accepting but seems to have known all along anyway AAK: Layla has learned to compartmentalise and keep everything separate and bringing disparate parts of your identity together Part of what I wanted to do in that sister relationship was highlight the fact that Layla is pandering to whiteness a bit with the boyfriend I think a lot of people of colour tell white people the narratives that they may want to hear because it’s easier for them to digest The film is celebrating the complexity of [the idea that] maybe Layla’s parents are a bit homophobic but the sister isn’t; and maybe the gay character is a tiny bit racist it’s looking at the in-between space of it all NH: Leading a double life is often common for people from Muslim backgrounds or from more conservative families in general I like that your film showed that it isn’t necessarily just us who live these double lives – despite being out to his more ‘liberal’ family Max is also hiding his true self from his family and friends Everyone in the film is in some kind of drag or performed identity which is what the film is really about: all these micro dynamics that we’re all in some kind of performance and Layla is repressing their race – and sometimes Layla is over-performing their race like when they wear the Islamic abaya in bed and have sex with Max Sometimes Layla is over-performing their femininity and then their masculinity and Max is over-performing his queerness and then under-performing it with his family being gay is quite a fixed end point – I wanted to show in this film that everyone’s out but there are all these varying levels of ‘outness’ The reason the film looks so draggy and constructed in every set almost artificial – whether it’s Max’s apartment or Layla’s house – is a nod to the fact that everyone’s performing a kind of theatre in this film but there are all these varying levels of ‘outness’” – Amrou Al-Kadhi NH: What was your own experience of growing up queer and Muslim and how has your relationship with Islam changed over time AAK: When I first started doing drag in my twenties I was just not integrating at all with my Arab identity I couldn’t figure out a way to integrate it because I’d had such bad experiences growing up I felt like my queerness and my Arabness were incompatible they don’t fully start wearing Arab stuff till the end of the film – their drag exists in a Western space But there are lots of nods in the film to Layla really accessing their femininity through their Arab culture I felt like there was all this stuff about my Arab culture and heritage that I couldn’t access because my parents didn’t let me but once I worked through that and met other queer Arabs and came out to my brother you get to start to access those things again it allows you to be confident in a way that you just aren’t in the rest of your life because Layla is in drag and so confident at the beginning is you get to access this confident side of yourself – when out of drag as someone who was really scared about my sexuality my self-worth was so low – to have a space where you could just inhabit all this confidence and just be so defiant … it’s almost like therapy or CBT and eventually you start to integrate the two who was married at 12 in Afghanistan and saw family members killed by Taliban A mother jailed for forcing her 20-year-old daughter to marry her eventual murderer has appealed against her prison sentence with her lawyer citing the fact she was married off at just 12 years old in Afghanistan challenged her three-year jail term and made an application for bail in the Victorian court of appeal on Tuesday she became the first person in Australia to be convicted of causing another person to enter into a forced marriage A county court jury found she forced her daughter, Ruqia Haidari to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi in August 2019 Halimi killed his young bride five months after their wedding and is serving a life sentence for her murder Patrick Tehan KC argued the sentencing judge failed to factor in Haidari’s death as extra-curial punishment for his client “She didn’t take it into consideration at all … and she should have,” Tehan told the court Jan was suffering chronic post-traumatic stress disorder because of her daughter’s death and her “significantly deprived” background in Afghanistan Jan was married at 12 years old and saw members of her family killed by the Taliban before migrating to Australia with her children Jan’s visa had also been cancelled since her sentencing and she was facing indefinite immigration detention as an unlawful non-citizen He argued the uncertainty surrounding her future was another form of additional punishment “This case was quite exceptional and called for the extension of mercy,” Tehan said He noted the maximum penalty for causing a person to enter into a forced marriage was seven years behind bars Tehan argued Jan’s three-year jail term was manifestly excessive and she should instead be re-sentenced to four months It would also be open to the appeal judges to impose a community corrections order alongside the four-month prison term argued the sentencing judge did not fall into error He accused Jan’s barrister of trying to run another plea hearing instead of challenging the mistakes of the sentencing judge not a court of having a second crack,” Renton said “Her Honour was engaging in a very difficult task Her Honour correctly approached the task.” the court could not impose a combination sentence of jail time and a community corrections order and justices Lesley Taylor and Christopher Boyce reserved their decision on appeal but refused Jan’s application for bail Emerton noted they did not consider her appeal prospects to be so strong as to warrant bail Jan’s family and supporters filled the courtroom on Tuesday while Jan was assisted in court by an interpreter An Australian court on Monday jailed an immigrant Afghan mother for three years for breaking Australia's forced marriage laws It is the first such case in the country that anyone has been jailed for such an action became the first person to be jailed for forcing her 20-year-old daughter Ruqia Haidari to marry a man told Victorian County Court Judge Fran Dalziel through an interpreter that she had not done anything wrong She will be released from custody on a recognizance order after 12 months but faces deportation to Afghanistan once released Jan initially refused to sign the recognizance order Jan allegedly coerced Haidari into marriage after her first arranged marriage had ended in divorce Halimi killed Haidari five months after their wedding and is serving a life prison term for her murder Part of a series: Militia Spotlight: Profiles or see Part 1: How to Use Militia Spotlight: Profiles Ahd Allah Islamic Movement is a social and cultural movement built around Kataib Hezbollah ideologue Hashem al-Haidari Name: Harakat Ahd Allah al-Islamiya (HAAI) Ahd Allah Islamic Movement. (This profile was last updated on March 19 Nonkinetic social and cultural operations, domestic counter-political/social moderate operations, domestic and foreign counter-U.S Kabul, Afghanistan. Image by Mohammad Rahmani from Unsplash The 22 March 2024 terrorist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall highlights the ongoing global struggle against terrorism Despite the UN's Global Counter–Terrorism Strategy international cooperation remains insufficient “the strategy is supposed to enhance national regional and international efforts to counter terrorism.”  al–Qaeda and other global jihadist groups have been inspired by the Taliban’s unprecedented strategic gains in the country This is a growing terrorist threat the rest of the world should not take lightly Lost your password? KABUL (Pajhwok): Former Afghan national football player Imran Haidari has signed a contract with FK Sudova team to play for the side in the Lithuanian . . . Play Duration: 12 minutes 49 seconds12m Brought to you by Zaki Haidari arrived by boat in Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of 17 in 2011.  This week he delivered the inaugural Kaldor Oration - a speech intended to enrich the national conversation on refugee issues. Guest: Zaki Haidari, refugee rights advocate and speaker at inaugural Kaldor Oration Download the ABC listen app to hear more of your favourite podcasts M. Ashraf Haidari (@MAshrafHaidari) has been Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka since 2018 and concurrently served as the Director-General of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program (SACEP) until recently He was the Director-General of Policy and Strategy of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan from 2015-2018 he served as Afghanistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission (Minister Counselor) to India for three years he was Afghanistan’s Deputy Assistant National Security Advisor for Policy and Oversight at the Office of the President Ambassador Haidari served at the Embassy of Afghanistan in the United States in various capacities including: Chargé d’Affaires and TV and radio commentator on Afghanistan He has held senior research and visiting fellowship positions at major international think-tanks including the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka (INSSSL) in Colombo the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) in Kabul the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Delhi Policy Group (DPG) in New Delhi He holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies (International Security and Development) from the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington-D.C. and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from Wabash College in Indiana Ambassador Haidari was a Fellow in Foreign Service at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service Ambassador Haidari serves on the board of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation in New York He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Biruni Institute in Kabul and previously served on the board of the Roots of Peace in California Ambassador Haidari is the recipient of several public and academic awards and his life and achievements have been publicly recognized and featured in international publications he received the Global Citizen Award from the Roots of Peace which recognized his relentless humanitarian diplomacy Ambassador Haidari was born and grew up in Afghanistan and shares a personal story that resonates with millions of other ordinary Afghans touched by decades of conflict He experienced these hardships firsthand both under the Soviet occupation in 1980s and the Taliban rule in 1990s Stay up to date with Just Security curated newsletters: Just Security provides expert analysis and informational resources on the issues that matter most—without paywalls Just Security is an editorially independent daily digital law and policy journal housed in the Reiss Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law Support Just Security in shaping a more informed and secure world by making a tax-deductible donation of any size through the NYU giving page Donate Now just alive': Why Ghulamreza hasn't seen his wife and son for 12 yearsGhulamreza Haidari left Afghanistan in 2012 because he feared for his safety as a Hazara man and hoped he could settle his family in Australia He's still waiting.Ghulamreza Haidari left Afghanistan in 2012 because of the persecution he faced as a Hazara man He says he has not been able to reunite with his wife and son because of his visa status His family could be forced back to Afghanistan Australia's 'lowest priority': The men waiting a decade to reunite with their families ShareGet SBS News daily and direct to your InboxSign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.Your email address *Morning (Mon–Fri) Sakina Muhammad Jan accused of forcing daughter Ruqia Haidari to marry ‘someone she did not know’ A young woman felt like her voice and future were being taken away when her mother allegedly coerced her into marrying an older man from another state Prosecutors have accused Sakina Muhammad Jan of forcing her 20-year-old daughter into marrying a man from Western Australia in 2019 Jan has pleaded not guilty and denies her daughter Ruqia Haidari told her that she did not want to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi Sitting in the court dock supported by a translator Jan faced the first day of a trial at the county court in Melbourne on Wednesday all of whom were born in Afghanistan and migrated to Australia with their mother as refugees in 2013 after their father was murdered by the Taliban The family settled in Shepparton and became part of the town’s Hazara community Prosecutor Darren Renton said Haidari had married a man in an Islamic religious ceremony called nikah but it had ended in divorce before the alleged forced marriage Haidari was seen to have “lost her value and does not have good prospects for remarriage” due to the divorce “This is a relevant circumstance in the Crown’s case because it goes to the motive to the accused’s desire to push her daughter into the marriage,” Renton told a jury of 13 a matchmaker spoke to Haidari about her marriage prospects but she said she wasn’t ready and wanted to wait until she was aged 27 or 28 was then told about a man from Perth who was looking for a wife and agreed to assist who flew from Perth to Shepparton on 1 June but Jan said the family needed time to think about the proposal and he flew back to WA Haidari was married to him on a temporary basis which allowed her to remain in Shepparton with her family Haidari told multiple people she did not want to be married “She felt like she was having her voice and future taken away,” he said “It all happened in a very rushed way … she did not know her fiance she was worried about living her life with someone she did not know.” Free daily newsletterOur Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day Haidari allegedly told police she was going to be permanently married to Halimi on 20 August but she did not want to go ahead She also said Jan had been paid a $10,000 dowry from Halimi that she did not want to marry Halimi and Jan told her it was not up to her I can make decisions for you,” he claimed Jan told Haidari Haidari’s brother arranged an officiant and she was permanently married to Halimi While she gave verbal consent at the ceremony Jan denies all allegations of coercion and denies her daughter told her she did not want to be married to Halimi “She denies her daughter did not fully and freely consent to the permanent nikah she denies her daughter entered into the nikah because of coercion threat or deception,” defence barrister Andrew Buckland said He asked the jury to dismiss any feelings of sympathy or prejudice and to put any preconceived ideas about arranged marriage to the side This article was published more than 6 months ago We go inside the daring operation to rescue Afghans from the Taliban – more on that below along with Alberta’s sputtering renewable energy sector and Canada’s sharp cuts to immigration and their young children in Ottawa.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail and they were added to the government’s list,” Dickson told me “Then I spent years following the cases of the people who were left behind.” This weekend, The Globe published the result of her exhaustive reporting – a tense, intimate account of Operation Abraham the years-long rescue mission orchestrated by volunteers in Ottawa to save more than 1,500 Afghans at risk of Taliban reprisals human rights activists and former national police and they all needed the same crucial item: a passport which would have to be printed from Afghanistan’s embassy in Moscow Dickson traces the journey of those passports across Russia slipped them under her burqa to escape the detection of a Taliban guard and the stakes were so high,” Dickson told me their whole operation would fall apart.” Her feature reveals the balletic co-ordination required for this international effort But here’s an introduction to a few of Operation Abraham’s key players Farouq Samim at his home office in Ottawa.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail Samim worked as a fixer for international journalists Once he learned the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 he connected with Ottawa lawyers Lewis Retik and Jacques Shore they frantically worked the phones to help Samim’s family members and former colleagues get out their list of people to extract ballooned to include judges Not everyone inside Afghanistan could access the internet to complete their passport application forms So after wrapping up his day job in Ontario’s health ministry Samim would retreat to his basement office and work until the early hours filling out the papers He translated applications from Dari and Pashto into English He gathered personal information over Whatsapp Getting applicants’ signatures proved to be a challenge; mostly Then he sent off the applications to Retik and forward them to Afghanistan’s embassy in Moscow Ahmad with an Afghan passport.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail pulled equally long hours printing off passports before the Taliban could revoke their diplomatic status But those passports still needed to make their way out of Moscow Operation Abraham turned to the brother of one of Samim’s Afghan friends collected nearly 300 passports from the embassy and booked a midday flight to Tehran in December he would drive through the night to Mashhad a city in northern Iran near its Afghanistan border where he’d pay a truck driver to smuggle the passports into the country He wrapped his black suitcase in thick layers of plastic gambling that the guards wouldn’t hold up the line by asking him to unravel it demanding to know about the dozens of small booklets the X-ray machine had picked up Ahmad had an explanation ready: They were brochures for a food exhibition taking place in Tehran He began to describe the event; the official waved him off Samim received a text that Ahmad was about to board his plane with some of the passports smuggled from Russia.Supplied The distributors: Naweed and Nelab Haidari The bundle of passports moved east by truck where they were to be collected by one of Samim’s nephews who’d reasoned that the Taliban were less likely to search their Corolla if a woman was present inside tucked the package under her burqa and held it against her pregnant belly as they drove through Taliban checkpoints some by hand and some by unsuspected bus drivers paid twice the price of a passenger ticket Then the Haidaris waited – and waited – for Canada’s immigration department to approve their applications By the time they arrived in Ottawa in March It took another 15 months for Ahmad to join them who’d been following Operation Abraham closely “I couldn’t say anything about it until the man who undertook this daring mission made it safely to Canada,” she told me You can read much more about that mission in her story for The Globe While oil-rich Texas has transformed into a leader in renewable energy, Alberta hit the brakes on its once-booming sector. Read more from The Globe’s Jeffrey Jones on the consequences here Today: Saskatchewan decides its next premier in an election that has centered on the province’s fractured health care system Today: One province over, Alberta starts its fall sitting just days before United Conservative Party members are meant to gather in Red Deer to vote on Danielle Smith’s leadership Tomorrow: It’s the Bloc Québécois’ deadline for the Liberals to pass bills on seniors benefits and supply management – otherwise Yves-François Blanchet says he’ll work with opposition parties to bring the government down Thursday: I myself will spend the night sneaking Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but you can vote for your favourite candy in The Globe’s ultimate Halloween bracket Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Editorial code of conduct Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. 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For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions It happens every time Ajmal Haidari and his wife go shopping—to Home Goods or one of the five Afghan grocery stores around Fredericksburg “If I see those customers that they come to the store that I work and their four children immigrated to Virginia in 2019 from Kabul Ajmal now works six days a week at 208 Gas and Check Cashing in Fredericksburg a small convenience store sandwiched between a car lot and a McDonalds You have to do something that you never did in your life,” he admits Ajmal got his first break in radio because his English was good He’d translate news bulletins into Farsi Dari “That’s a pride for me for doing that show that I could have like a place in the society among the hearts of the people But given the political situation in Afghanistan and both the Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani administrations “So that was the main point of our radio show We were giving the hope to the people,” Ajmal remembers “If the war is continuously going on in Afghanistan we are trying to rebuild Afghanistan… If you all come together and help too—important given threats from the Taliban toward Afghans who worked with foreigners Ajmal and his family earned special immigrant visas and passage to the U.S he often speaks Farsi Dari with colleagues and has even picked up some Spanish from his customers 8—speak Farsi Dari at home but mostly dream in English “What I am telling my kids is that Afghanistan is our home 2024 is their 5th year in Fredericksburg and a big one Ajmal and his wife hope to apply for citizenship which he mixes with traditional Afghani music and plays for his kids in the car It gives me an image that I am doing and I am hosting that show.” This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association. Lina Rozbeh Haidari is a prominent figure representing the Afghan war generation and the immigrant experience. Born in Kabul during Afghanistan’s domestic wars, she relocated with her family to Iran, then Pakistan, before eventually settling in Canada. Apart from being a poet and journalist, she has worked as a news reporter for Voice of America since 2014. She has also published a book of poetry titled Wada-e-behsht (وعده بهشت). The following story is a translated excerpt from the novel Yak Roz Ta Abad (One Day Forever) by Lina Rozbeh Haidari The novel portrays the situation of women in Afghanistan before the Taliban’s resurgence in the country It beautifully depicts the political landscape of the nation and its impact on people’s lives The narrative of this story revolves around Zahra Her mother is a widowed single woman who takes care of her two daughters she continues to provide hope for a better life for her daughters Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Newcity Art by | October 9 installation view of “Under the Cherry Moon” at Povos Under the cherry moon anything is possible Unreal landscapes with figures that twist and morph in fantastical ways come to life The color palette—a striking blend of intense and subdued hues—adds to the mystique as Ashkon Haidari turns daily observations paintings and etchings in captivating ways the Iranian American artist crosses over from reality to the boundless world of imagination a female figure who’s missing an ear another whose high heels look abnormally away from her body a long tube-like fabric with a tiny doll-like hand emerging from the end in an effort to hand you an apple a monkey on roller skates… That’s just a taste of Haidari’s work that shines under a reddish full-moon-shaped pendant lamp One can’t help but feel like they’re allowed a behind-the-scenes look into the artist’s elusive process—and perhaps even his mind Through metamorphosis and transformation, symbolism and allegory, Haidari delves deep into the subconscious: harnessing the reservoirs of his creativity often comes by simply letting go. As a result, he fearlessly embraces irrationality and the absurd. His large-scale paintings transport the viewer to a different world and Povos gallery becomes an enchanted forest of sorts In the appropriately titled “Under the Cherry Moon” exhibition With an approach that’s deeply rooted in tradition and looking up to legendary masters such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí the artist introduces bizarre juxtapositions dream-like effects and fragmented memories His meticulousness is evident in the intricate details—hidden elements that serve as Easter eggs and are intentionally left open to interpretation they find themselves in a rabbit hole of distorted imagery that could mean anything—literally “It is the mirror that reflects my state of being; It is the narrator of my experience,” he adds revealing an enigmatic tapestry of emotions and experiences—a journey into the unknown even for himself it seems to take a life of its own not only drawing from the depths of the artist’s subconscious but also thriving in its ability to evoke profound introspection to the viewer It is only when they delve into their own creative depths and emotional wellspring when they craft their own narratives and when they are fully immersed in the exhibition’s unexpected otherness that Haidari’s work has come full circle “Under the Cherry Moon” offers a refreshing take on contemporary surrealism an escape and a fascinating journey of discovery Ashkon Haidari’s “Under the Cherry Moon” is on view at Povos Content warning: This story discusses violence against women Ruqia Haidari was just 15 years old when she was first forced to marry a man she didn't love.  The marriage was arranged by Ruqia's mother, Sakina Muhammad Jan, but ended in divorce five years later.  After fleeing the Taliban, Ruqia's family became part of the Shepparton Afghan Hazara community in Victoria, where traditional beliefs are strongly upheld.  One such belief was that divorce brought shame on a family Ruqia was now deemed a "bewa" by her community particularly to future potential husbands.  Watch: 6 Signs Of People Who Have Been Abused Despite her daughter's poor "prospects for marriage" Ruqia's mother began a desperate search for a new husband for her It was Sakina's obsession with restoring her daughter's reputation that led to the introduction of 25-year-old Perth man A mutual friend and "matchmaker" arranged for Halimi to fly to Shepperton to meet Ruqia spending just half an hour alone with her before their engagement was confirmed by her family.  The next time Ruqia laid eyes on her future husband was at their "nikah" an Islamic religious ceremony to confirm their marriage.  she didn't want to go through with the arrangement and had always wanted to "marry for love".  Some members of the community tried to convince Sakina not to follow through with the arrangement Afghan community leader Zahra Haydar-Big begged Sakina to let Ruqia at least finish university before marrying but she told her Halimi's family wanted the wedding to happen as soon as possible Zahra asked Sakina if they felt comfortable with Halimi But Sakina simply said the matchmaker would be to blame if things went wrong.  Ruqia often shared her unhappiness with her driving instructor She described feeling helpless and as though her "choices and future were being taken away from her" Ruqia and Halimi were married in a religious ceremony in November Halimi paid Sakina a bride dowry of $14,000 and the couple moved into Halimi’s home in the northern Perth suburb of Balcatta When Ruqia returned to Shepparton for her friend Maryiam Khan's wedding she told her she didn't want to return to her husband when Ruqia told her mother that she wanted to remain in Shepparton we will only take back your dead body".  and she rejected her husband's attempts at intimacy Halimi killed Ruqia with a kitchen knife before handing himself to police.  He was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison Halimi said he'd found evidence of Ruqia visiting police to determine whether she could be forced into marriage.  the Australian Federal Police arrested and charged Sakina with orchestrating a forced marriage she became the first person in Australia to be found guilty of the crime in the ten years since it became one.  she was sentenced to three years in prison with 12 months to be served before she is released under multiple conditions She could also face deportation back to Afghanistan.  has a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.  the court heard there was no evidence Sakina knew Halimi would murder her daughter but that such an outcome was the "ultimate risk" of forced marriage.  domestic and family violence counselling service For more information on Thrive International or to donate visit thriveint.org pull on her camouflage uniform and tuck in the black hijab that framed her face before starting her day in what was called “the female tactical platoon” of the Afghan army Put another way: the 27-year-old Haidari worked with U.S Haidari played the critical role of questioning women and children who a button-up shirt and a jacket with the Panda Express restaurant logo Then she walks out of the tiny North Spokane apartment she shares with her three younger sisters and heads to the bus stop to start her long trip to work In hopes of finding a better-paying job and continuing her schooling Haidari recently completed a driving course through Thrive International she’s just waiting to get behind the wheel to practice Haidari’s parents moved to Kabul in hopes of giving their six children a better life girls were often allowed to finish high school in the large capital city The military is viewed as “a man’s job,” Haidari said especially with so many restrictions on women’s daily lives Seeing the women in uniform ignoring those cultural norms inspired Haidari “This is exactly what I want,” she remembers thinking but Haidari signed papers anyway and left for six months of training in Turkey especially when Haidari explained she hoped to help make ends meet with her paycheck Haidari was selected for the Female Tactical Platoon and trained by U.S with Afghan women like Haidari questioning the women and children they encountered She rose through the ranks over the course of her six years in the platoon eventually being promoted to second in command shortly before the U.S hoping to leave even without the proper paperwork She along with two of her sisters were able to flee with the help of her American friends Haidari arrived in the United States in August 2021 she was sent to an Air Force base in Wisconsin where she stayed for three months until she could contact her brother-in-law who lives in Spokane He and his wife encouraged Haidari and her sisters including a third who followed Haidari out of Afghanistan arrived not long after and were given an apartment through World Relief all the sisters enrolled in English as a second language courses at Spokane Community College but it was a difficult trek to get to the campus via bus The commute took up precious hours Haidari could be working she’s taking two quarters off school to pick up more hours at Panda Express while her youngest sister finishes high school Her future is uncertain as the women wait for a determination on their asylum applications Haidari doesn’t qualify for the special immigrant visas given to Afghans who worked for the military as translators or fixers As more Afghan and Iraqi refugees arrive in Spokane a program coordinator at Thrive and an Iraqi refugee herself saw a huge need for a class to teach women how to drive Women aren’t encouraged to drive in many Middle Eastern countries Their husband or father will likely be the only one to get a license which leaves the rest of the family reliant on him If kids have a doctor appointment or school event often the man of the family has to take time off work to drive them Women also don’t have a baseline of driving skills from back home There’s a language and a financial barrier to taking classes at a traditional driving school So Nelson started driving classes at Thrive with the help of Spokane Police Sgt Fuller taught six women the basics of traffic safety over the course of a few weeks it’s helping them stay as safe as they can now that they’re in a new country.” the exam isn’t offered in Farsi or other languages commonly spoken in Afghanistan and Iraq and there aren’t any certified translators leaving some women with no choice but to go to Seattle for the test Nelson has a whole list of volunteers signed up ready to supervise practice driving sessions but Thrive doesn’t have a car for the women to drive The nonprofit needs to own a car outright for insurance purposes and to install a second brake on the passenger side for safety New drivers who spend time practicing outside of the classroom are much less likely to get into crashes than those who jump straight in to driving on their own Despite the 20-person wait list for the next session of driving classes Nelson is waiting to start a new group until Haidari and her classmates can get some time on the road “We’re just waiting for a car,” Nelson said Haidari is hopeful she’ll get her license soon which would allow her to resume English classes start looking for a better job and return to her favorite hobby She hopes other women follow suit and learn to drive improving their lives one freedom at a time “There are a lot of women like me just waiting for driving lessons,” Haidari said Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens © Copyright 2025, The Spokesman-Review | Community Guidelines | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy An Afghan refugee who played professional soccer has made a home in Tulsa Azatullah Haidari played professional soccer back in his home country with the Afghanistan National Football Team "I'm glad that I'm here with the friendly people of Tulsa," Haidari said It's been almost two years since war started in Azatullah Haidari's home country and that's what brought him and his family to Tulsa I went to Washington D.C for the first time I arrived in the United States and then the government sent me to Tulsa,” Haidari said He said he's grateful for the people he's met because his family came here with nothing they gave me rides to the different sports and activities that I had He still enjoys playing soccer for his team and received scholarships from a local soccer club that helps refugee children who want to play which I was in Afghanistan in JROTC which is very different but I'm glad that I am here," Haidari said Haidari has big dreams of once again playing professional soccer "One of my goals is to play for the United States national team," he said He also wants to join the Air Force someday and even work with people at NASA MaKayla Glenn graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and the National Association of Black Journalists MaKayla started with News On 6 in August 2022 \"I'm glad that I'm here with the friendly people of Tulsa,\" Haidari said which was very good for me,\" Haidari said but I'm glad that I am here,\" Haidari said \"One of my goals is to play for the United States national team,\" he said and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox Ashraf Haidari ’01 had a clear understanding that there would be “no promising future” for him if he chose to stay in Afghanistan He knew pursuing education internationally would be key to a brighter future and potential change for himself “We did not get a proper education in Afghanistan,” explained Haidari “We would sometimes go to school only two or three days a week and sometimes the teachers wouldn’t show up.” Haidari experienced unimaginable hardships firsthand both under the Soviet occupation in 1980s and the Taliban rule in 1990s He worked as a street vendor as child growing up in Kabul His family fled Kabul for Mazar-e Sharif in 1992 where Ashraf approached the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officers for a job Haidari held various field positions with UNHCR and the World Food Program in Afghanistan serving internally displaced persons and refugees from Tajikistan It was through those jobs with UNHCR that Haidari honed his English skills and his complex road to higher education in the United States began “I so desperately wanted to get out,” says Haidari “What mattered most was getting out of the instability the city was plunged into lawlessness when the Taliban returned to take over the city and massacred thousands of non-combatant members of the Hazara population After witnessing their own neighbors be systematically killed his family fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan “Ashraf told me about his family fleeing the Taliban and that he had not heard from them in over six months He had no idea if they were living or dead,” remembers Professor Emerita of Political Science Melissa Butler H’85 “I was tremendously moved by what he had been living with through his first semester of college.” Email was not an option to stay in touch with family The country only had roughly 3,000 landlines and there was only one central office of communications where people would wait for hours only to get a minute or two to speak to someone abroad “I completely lost touch with my family for nearly two years,” Haidari says “My friends that worked with the UNHCR would let me know when they saw my father here and there I had during my early years at Wabash.” and other friends he made in the Crawfordsville community would often check up on him and ask about his family and how he was coping “I did struggle to stay focused on my studies at times,” says Haidari “but they made it all possible.” specifically Butler and Religion Professor David Blix ’70 They caught me up to be at the same level as other students,” he says I was able to exceed everyone’s expectations.” BUTLER RECALLS his keen interest in the prospects for change in Afghanistan He wrote his political science senior seminar paper on regional stability in South and Central Asia with an emphasis on Afghanistan and his international studies paper on what he learned from his junior year studying abroad in Geneva focusing on Swiss armed neutrality as a model for Afghanistan “Ashraf is a good man of high moral character,” says Butler “He is the kind of public servant that his country and the world badly needs in its leadership.” Blix says he felt awestruck by the fact that Haidari had lived through horrors in Afghanistan and still came out of it with a “relatively cheerful spirit and selfless determination to right a country that had been wronged.” “Teaching about different religions around the world sometimes I might have a Muslim or a Hindu in class and I’m always wondering how my account of Islam matches up with what they are actually living,” says Blix “Ashraf explained to me what he lived through He believed it matched up with what I thought I understood and was teaching in the classroom “We had a lot of conversations about his home “It was through him that I really became aware of the complicated situation in Afghanistan and what it was like to spend one’s childhood in refugee camps.” Haidari applied for and was granted asylum “I applied for asylum because I couldn’t go back to Afghanistan,” he explained working for two years until I got a Green Card (officially known as a Permanent Resident Card) and then getting a master’s degree I could get a UN job focused on humanitarian assistance Haidari earned a master’s degree in security studies from the Georgetown University Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington D.C he has worked as a fellow in Foreign Service at Georgetown University served more than two terms at the Embassy of Afghanistan in the U.S. served as Afghanistan’s deputy chief of mission (minister counselor) to India and as the director-general of policy and strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan HAIDARI HAS SERVED as the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka since 2018 and concurrently served as the rotating director-general of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Program a regional inter-governmental organization headquartered in Colombo and public and cultural diplomacy as Ambassador in order to build and deepen comprehensive bilateral ties between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka He works closely with?the leadership of the Sri Lankan government Haidari has enhanced the visibility of the Afghan Embassy in Colombo by working as a writer and TV and radio commentator on Afghanistan His work has consistently been published in notable national Some of the key issues Haidari focuses on as Ambassador have shifted specifically after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 after the U.S withdrew its remaining troops from the country as outlined in a 2020 peace agreement with the Taliban “I have focused on advocacy,” Haidari explains and speaking up against and exposing the war crimes the Taliban continues to commit.” the Taliban systematically destroyed local and state institutions and gutted these facilities of their female workers “The Taliban has taken away all of these facilities that help maintain public health and help Afghans survive,” he says “And this is getting worse and worse as Afghanistan continues to be sanctioned internationally as the Taliban imposes a complete gender apartheid and completely cut off from the rest of the world.” BLIX SAYS HAIDARI has been on his mind a lot recently especially after he heard news that the Taliban had returned to Afghanistan He admits to worrying about his former student but is proud of his “huge amount of courage” and the work being selflessly put in to protect and save his country and its people introduces students to the world and gives them a certain capacity to move comfortably and to not be intimidated by adversity or differences of culture,” says Blix “Ashraf is a living testimonial.” Haidari says his work as ambassador does put him at risk and that he cannot go back to Afghanistan because he’s confident his name is “on the top of the head list.” Haidari says he won’t lose out on any opportunity to “resist and speak up” on behalf of his home even when others have publicly “fallen silent” out of fear of Taliban retaliation “The reason why I continue talking is because of the education that I got from Wabash: what to do in situations like this how to speak up for the values and rights of my nation,” says Haidari “It’s an incomplete journey of achieving our democracy and convince our neighbors and the world that what is happening in Afghanistan matters … What’s happening in Afghanistan has implications for the United States,” he explained “We cannot just let a whole nation suffer under these medieval terrorist criminals that has taken a whole nation hostage That liberation will be good for regional stability as well as the rest of the world.”   Parisa Haidari made her way more than 3,100 miles from Afghanistan to Italy  This article, by high school student Keya Dutt, was produced out of News Decoder’s school partnership program. Keya is a student at School Year Abroad, a News Decoder partner institution. Learn more about how News Decoder can work with your school Parisa Haidari is taking classes with her daughter to become a certified nail technician which could also serve as a cultural center for Muslim women She started out as a beautician back in 2005 while she finished university she started working as a cultural and social host for Farda TV/Radio where she invited important figures on the show to talk about cultural matters such as the growing feminist movement in Afghanistan But women’s rights was not something the general public embraced special forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 she began to hear stories about coworkers targeted for being journalists “Being a journalist and a woman working in social media was dangerous many colleagues were threatened or killed,” Haidari said so that’s the reason why I decided to quit.” Haidari left her job and began working in an orphanage where she taught young girls cosmetology skills including hair-cutting and makeup application in appreciation of the job that got her through university an Italian NGO aimed at bringing peace and justice to the world a van that picked women up at their houses and dropped them off at work This empowered the women of Kabul and kept them safe Many women were not permitted to go more than 20 meters from their house without a male relation The pink shuttle allowed women to go back and forth to work easily the Biden administration in Washington announced it would pull American troops out of Afghanistan the Taliban regained control of the capital city of Kabul caught a flight out of Kabul and came to Florence where they caught a bus to Arezzo and finally to Viterbo Their oldest son had moved to Germany many years earlier while their second oldest daughter had married and moved to Iran we hadn’t prepared ourselves at all,” Haidari said and when we came to Italy we met different people but little by little we are learning to adapt to our new lives.” Haidari attributes much of the help that they received to Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana (ARCI) a national Italian nonprofit organization that works to provide financial and physical aid to immigrants and refugees in Italy According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics there are currently about 14,000 Afghan refugees living in Italy explained that this low percentage suggests that Afghanistan is not allowing women who lack husbands or who emancipated themselves to leave the country “We have a lot of women in our project who ask to be reunited with their sisters or daughters but there is no solution for them now,” the expert said speaking on condition that their name not be used “There are no ‘humanitarian channels’ agreed with the current government of Afghanistan.” Haidari’s earliest childhood memories take place in Iran the bordering country that her family moved to from Afghanistan shortly after she was born Haidari doesn’t remember much of her early childhood except the constant presence of war and instability in Afghanistan the president of Afghanistan was killed and Nur Mohammed Taraki leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan Taraki restricted women’s rights and established traditional Islamic values According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 1982 about 2.8 million Afghan people have fled to neighboring Pakistan and Iran in order to escape the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan Haidari studied literature at a local university for two years until her family found her a husband She was not even 20 years old on her wedding day but when I got married I couldn’t continue my studies anymore the Taliban rose to power in Afghanistan with the promise of peace causing even more chaos and war in the country and the United States became suspicious that Osama Bin Laden This led to United States occupancy in Afghanistan full of hope for peace and equal rights for women in this war-torn country Haidari is using the help of ARCI to open a nail salon that will double as a cultural center for Muslim women “We want to open up this cultural center with the help of ARCI for Muslim women and above all for Afghan women,” she said Haidari would like the women of Afghanistan to know that they are beautiful and strong She wants the world to know that Afghan women can do anything that they put their minds to “I have this message for the Afghan women: I am sure that we can find a solution all of these things that are happening in Afghanistan,” Haidari said “I hope that this situation soon ends in Afghanistan and that we can get back the rights that we had before.” about 200,000 Afghan women fled the country in August 2021 and is spending her second year of high school studying at School Year Abroad Italy and outside of class she enjoys Model United Nations she hopes to major in History or English at university and eventually become a political journalist Afghanistan: Where free expression costs reporters their freedom How I fled danger in Afghanistan for refuge in Ukraine We knew some Afghanistan lessons long ago. Others need time. Like other empires, U.S. faces hard choices in Afghanistan Walking with the mujahideen in Afghanistan U.S. blunders in Afghanistan recall Vietnam That is an incredible and inspiring story about Taab Hassan’s 3100 mile journey to safety Her courage and determination is truly remarkable I am so glad to hear that she and her family have found safety It is deeply sad that so many families have to go through such extreme lengths to find refuge from violence and oppression it is also beautiful to see how locals from around the world were able to come together to help her and her family make the journey and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" What We DoWho We AreNews Decoder UpdatesContact Us © News Decoder 2025. All rights reserved. | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Editorial Policy News Decoder is the educational services unit of Nouvelles-Découvertes Webmaster Joy Matéo – Digit’all Communication Metrics details Interaction of the T cell receptor (TCR) with an MHC-antigenic peptide complex results in changes at the molecular and cellular levels in T cells The outside environmental cues are translated into various signal transduction pathways within the cell which mediate the activation of various genes with the help of specific transcription factors These signaling networks propagate with the help of various effector enzymes Integration of these disparate signal transduction pathways is done with the help of adaptor proteins that are non-enzymatic in function and that serve as a scaffold for various protein–protein interactions This process aids in connecting the proximal to distal signaling pathways thereby contributing to the full activation of T cells This review provides a comprehensive snapshot of the various molecules involved in regulating T cell receptor signaling and will discuss their role in human disease we discuss the role of TCR signaling in human health and disease and henceforth the nomenclature T cells will refer to αβ T cells The C domain is used for the interactions with CD3 chains a TCRα/TCRβ and TCRγ/TCRδ heterodimers form complexes with the CD3 molecules and a homodimer of CD3ζ/CD3ζ form complexes with TCR dimers TCR heterodimers contain intramolecular and intermolecular disulfide bonds CD3 chains contain 10 ITAMs distributed in different CD3 molecules The variable region (V) of TCR heterodimers recognize the antigen peptide-loaded on MHC (pMHC) the intracellular part of the CD3 molecules forms a close conformation in which ITAMs are inaccessible to the kinases for phosphorylation b Coreceptor CD4 acts as a single molecule while CD8α and CD8β can form homodimers or heterodimers c MCH-I consists of an α-chain containing three immunoglobulin domains (α1 MCH-2 is the heterodimer of an α chain and a β-chain containing two immunoglobulin domains (α1 d LCK-loaded CD4 molecules bind to the MHC-II bound TCR (TCRα/TCRβ) complex This allows LCK to phosphorylate two distinct sites on ITAMs Then ZAP-70 interacts with the phosphotyrosine sites and mediates more tyrosine phosphorylation CD4 and MHC-II interaction is mediated through the membrane-proximal α2 and β2 domains of MHC-II and the membrane-distal D1 domain of CD4 LCK activity is probably dynamically regulated by cellular abundance and activity of CSK only the homodimer CD8α/CD8α and heterodimeric CD8α/CD8β can load LCK to the TCR complex and although a CD8β/CD8β homodimer can be formed it cannot recruit LCK to the TCR complex and thereby does not play a role in TCR signaling Perhaps membrane-bound CD3ζ might be released to the cytosol where free LCK induces tyrosine phosphorylation on at least two sites in ITAMs This basal tyrosine phosphorylation creates docking sites for ZAP-70 interaction the TCR complex recruits coreceptor-bound LCK that phosphorylates ZAP-70 and interacts with it through the SH2 domain facilitating tyrosine phosphorylation on other residues on ITAMs which was independent of ZAP-70 kinase activity suggesting that ZAP-70 does not play a role in CD3ζ tyrosine phosphorylation but that interaction with tyrosine residues probably limits phosphatase access the interaction is important for ZAP-70 activation and downstream signaling the association of pMHC to the TCR complex that mediates structural changes of the cytosolic part of CD3 is important for TCR activation probably further explaining CD3ζ tyrosine phosphorylation in resting cells the activated state of TCR is characterized by phosphorylation of ITAMs followed by phosphorylation and activation of ZAP-70 designated as the immunological synapse (IS) via diverse binding sites as discussed below therein bringing them to the plasma membrane is important for TCR-mediated signaling and intra-thymic development of T cells Inappropriate activation of T cells is prevented by the termination of TCR signals, and this is mediated by certain proteins that negatively regulate TCR signaling (Fig. 4) and ligases also play important roles in negatively regulating TCR signaling The figure depicts the activation of various enzymes and adaptor molecules upon engagement of TCR with the MHC antigenic peptide complex The phosphorylation events carried out are depicted as small Black lines with arrows indicate activation The figure depicts various adaptors and enzymes involved in negatively regulating TCR signaling Dotted black lines with arrows indicate dephosphorylation events T cells are isolated from the patient’s cancer tissue or peripheral blood and genetically modified by retroviral transduction to express antigen-specific TCR or CAR on T cells Cells are then expanded ex vivo until sufficient cell numbers are achieved and reinfused into the patient’s body it increases the risk of drug-induced toxicity and therefore should be evaluated with caution The immunosuppressive microenvironment induced by cancer-associated stromal cells modulates cancer progression and therapy resistance the transformation of malignant fibroblasts release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines dysregulated vasculature and extracellular matrix remodeling overexpression of negative immune-checkpoint regulators metabolic status of the tumor including O2 and nutrients deprivation the genetic composition of the tumor cells all this heterogeneous ecosystem of the TME contributes to the tumor therapy resistance engineered CTLA4 antibodies with optimized Fc receptors to selectively deplete T reg cells represent an interesting approach towards developing specific anti-tumor immunity these data suggest that aberrant signaling pathways are critical regulators of the TME and targeting these pathways using TCR-based immunotherapy with selective pathway inhibitors might provide a rationale for a combinatorial approach and could overcome the immune activation resistance posed by the TME the advancement of newly emerging technologies such as next-generation sequencing and mass spectrometry-based algorithms have accelerated the translational and manufacturing aspects of vaccinomics and identified different cancer neoantigens for personalized immunotherapy meaning it can be tailored individually to each cancer patient The breakthrough made by TCR-based therapeutic applications is rapidly transforming the paradigm of immunotherapies PD-1 and CTLA4 are the most extensively studied immune-checkpoint negative regulators due to their prominent role in fine-tuning tumor-infiltrating T cells cancer cells exploit this negative regulation and escape from the immune system surveillance due to a wide variety of PD-1 or PD-L1 expression among different types of cancers not all patients are eligible to undergo this type of treatment although CAR-T therapy has emerged as a potential strategy to target hematological malignancies this type of therapy is still hindered by the challenges posed by the TME heterogeneity in solid tumors and by the accompanied therapy-related toxicities While TCR-T cell therapy has provided impressive clinical results the development and proliferation of such therapy encounters numerous obstacles tailoring treatment for each patient based on identified genetic mutations we believe that the development of the next generation of TCR-based therapy will overcome these dilemmas and more groundbreaking applications for cancer immunotherapy are expected to be revealed in the near future T cell receptor signal transduction in T lymphocytes An introduction to immunology and immunopathology A TCR-switchable cell death pathway in T-ALL Central memory and effector memory T cell subsets: function Signal transduction mediated by the T cell antigen receptor: the role of adapter proteins T-cell antigen receptor signal transduction Recent insights of T cell receptor-mediated signaling pathways for T cell activation and development TCR signaling: mechanisms of initiation and propagation The role of adapter proteins in T cell activation The role of adaptor proteins in the biology of natural killer T (NKT) cells Positive and negative adaptors in T-cell signalling Structural biology of the T-cell receptor: insights into receptor assembly Piecing together the family portrait of TCR-CD3 complexes and delta T cell antigen receptor genes arose early in vertebrate phylogeny Expression of the alpha/beta and gamma/delta T-cell receptors in 57 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphomas Identification of a subset of gamma/delta T-cell lymphomas The alpha beta T cell receptor can replace the gamma delta receptor in the development of gamma delta lineage cells Gamma-delta (gammadelta) T cells: friend or foe in cancer development An alternative conformation of the T-cell receptor alpha constant region Structure of a human gammadelta T-cell antigen receptor The TCR C beta FG loop regulates alpha beta T cell development Alphabeta and gammadelta T cell receptors: similar but different Structural basis of assembly of the human T cell receptor-CD3 complex Cell biology of T cell receptor expression and regulation Differential function of major histocompatibility complex antigens in T-lymphocyte activation Regulation of cellular and humoral immune responses by T-cell subclasses Expression of T-cell differentiation antigens on effector cells in cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro Evidence for functional heterogeneity related to the surface phenotype of T cells The regulation of CD4 and CD8 coreceptor gene expression during T cell development Transcriptional control of CD4 and CD8 coreceptor expression during T cell development CD4 and CD8 accessory molecules function through interactions with major histocompatibility complex molecules which are not directly associated with the T cell receptor-antigen complex Alphabeta T cell receptors that do not undergo major histocompatibility complex-specific thymic selection possess antibody-like recognition specificities Lck activity controls CD4/CD8 T cell lineage commitment The CD8 coreceptor revisited: one chain good CD8alphaalpha-mediated survival and differentiation of CD8 memory T cell precursors Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and MHC class II proteins: conformational plasticity in antigen presentation Mechanisms of lipid antigen presentation by CD1 Src-family protein tyrosine kinases: a promising target for treating cardiovascular diseases Cellular functions regulated by Src family kinases The role of SRC family kinases in FLT3 signaling Myristoylation and membrane binding regulate c-Src stability and kinase activity SH3 domain ligand binding: what’s the consensus and where’s the specificity Phosphotyrosine recognition domains: the typical The human p50csk tyrosine kinase phosphorylates p56lck at Tyr-505 and down regulates its catalytic activity Dephosphorylation and activation of the T cell tyrosine kinase pp56lck by the leukocyte common antigen (CD45) Structural basis for activation of human lymphocyte kinase Lck upon tyrosine phosphorylation Beyond TCR signaling: emerging functions of Lck in cancer and immunotherapy The differential regulation of Lck kinase phosphorylation sites by CD45 is critical for T cell receptor signaling responses CD45-Csk phosphatase-kinase titration uncouples basal and inducible T cell receptor signaling during thymic development Identification of substrates of human protein-tyrosine phosphatase PTPN22 Specific dephosphorylation of the Lck tyrosine protein kinase at Tyr-394 by the SHP-1 protein-tyrosine phosphatase Spatial and temporal dynamics of T cell receptor signaling with a photoactivatable agonist Profound block in thymocyte development in mice lacking p56lck Lck regulates the tyrosine phosphorylation of the T cell receptor subunits and ZAP-70 in murine thymocytes Phosphorylation of the N-terminal and C-terminal CD3-epsilon-ITAM tyrosines is differentially regulated in T cells Signal transduction by lymphocyte antigen receptors A novel di-leucine motif and a tyrosine-based motif independently mediate lysosomal targeting and endocytosis of CD3 chains Immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif is required to signal pathways of receptor-mediated growth arrest and apoptosis in murine B lymphoma cells Analysis of the interaction of ZAP-70 and syk protein-tyrosine kinases with the T-cell antigen receptor by plasmon resonance Sequential interactions of the TCR with two distinct cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases Initiation of TCR phosphorylation and signal transduction pp59fyn mutant mice display differential signaling in thymocytes and peripheral T cells Defective T cell receptor signaling in mice lacking the thymic isoform of p59fyn Genetic evidence for the involvement of the lck tyrosine kinase in signal transduction through the T cell antigen receptor Lck associates with and is activated by Kit in a small cell lung cancer cell line: inhibition of SCF-mediated growth by the Src family kinase inhibitor PP1 The Src family kinase LCK cooperates with oncogenic FLT3/ITD in cellular transformation Intracellular signaling of the Ufo/Axl receptor tyrosine kinase is mediated mainly by a multi-substrate docking-site Different T cell receptor affinity thresholds and CD8 coreceptor dependence govern cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation and tetramer binding properties CD4/CD8 coreceptors in thymocyte development and lineage commitment: analysis of the CD4/CD8 lineage decision CD4 and CD8: modulators of T-cell receptor recognition of antigen and of immune responses The T cell receptor as a multicomponent signalling machine: CD4/CD8 coreceptors and CD45 in T cell activation The CD4 and CD8 T cell surface antigens are associated with the internal membrane tyrosine-protein kinase p56lck The lck tyrosine protein kinase interacts with the cytoplasmic tail of the CD4 glycoprotein through its unique amino-terminal domain Retargeting of cytosolic proteins to the plasma membrane by the Lck protein tyrosine kinase dual acylation motif Intrinsic signals in the unique domain target p56(lck) to the plasma membrane independently of CD4 Serine 6 of Lck tyrosine kinase: a critical site for Lck myristoylation Subcellular distribution of Lck during CD4 T-cell maturation in the thymic medulla regulates the T-cell activation threshold Direct observation of ligand recognition by T cells Direct observation and quantitative analysis of Lck exchange between plasma membrane and cytosol in living T cells Rapid and transient palmitoylation of the tyrosine kinase Lck mediates Fas signaling Short related sequences in the cytoplasmic domains of CD4 and CD8 mediate binding to the amino-terminal domain of the p56lck tyrosine protein kinase The CD4 receptor is complexed in detergent lysates to a protein-tyrosine kinase (pp58) from human T lymphocytes Interaction of the unique N-terminal region of tyrosine kinase p56lck with cytoplasmic domains of CD4 and CD8 is mediated by cysteine motifs Zinc is essential for binding of p56(lck) to CD4 and CD8alpha A Zn2+ ion links the cytoplasmic tail of CD4 and the N-terminal region of Lck A zinc clasp structure tethers Lck to T cell coreceptors CD4 and CD8 Crystal structure of the human CD4 N-terminal two-domain fragment complexed to a class II MHC molecule Crystal structure of a complete ternary complex of T-cell receptor Affinity maturation of human CD4 by yeast surface display and crystal structure of a CD4-HLA-DR1 complex Structural and biophysical insights into the role of CD4 and CD8 in T cell activation Crystal structure of the complex between human CD8alpha(alpha) and HLA-A2 Molecular interactions mediating T cell antigen recognition The alphabeta T cell receptor is an anisotropic mechanosensor Distinctive CD3 heterodimeric ectodomain topologies maximize antigen-triggered activation of alpha beta T cell receptors Both high and low avidity antibodies to the T cell receptor can have agonist or antagonist activity can be expressed in the absence of CD8 alpha as a beta beta homodimer CD8alphaalpha and -alphabeta isotypes are equally recruited to the immunological synapse through their ability to bind to MHC class I Nonstimulatory peptides contribute to antigen-induced CD8-T cell receptor interaction at the immunological synapse Structural features of the cytoplasmic region of CD4 required for internalization Disruption of the CD4-p56lck complex is required for rapid internalization of CD4 Rapid phosphorylation and modulation of the T4 antigen on cloned helper T cells induced by phorbol myristate acetate or antigen The protein tyrosine kinase p56lck inhibits CD4 endocytosis by preventing entry of CD4 into coated pits Coreceptor scanning by the T cell receptor provides a mechanism for T cell tolerance The CD4 and CD8 antigens are coupled to a protein-tyrosine kinase (p56lck) that phosphorylates the CD3 complex Biochemical identification of a direct physical interaction between the CD4:p56lck and Ti(TcR)/CD3 complexes Tyrosine phosphorylation of the human T cell antigen receptor zeta-chain: activation via CD3 but not CD2 Activation of human T lymphocytes via the CD2 antigen results in tyrosine phosphorylation of T cell antigen receptor zeta-chains Fidelity of T cell activation through multistep T cell receptor zeta phosphorylation Investigation of the kinetics and order of tyrosine phosphorylation in the T-cell receptor zeta chain by the protein tyrosine kinase Lck ZAP-70 binding specificity to T cell receptor tyrosine-based activation motifs: the tandem SH2 domains of ZAP-70 bind distinct tyrosine-based activation motifs with varying affinity Regulation of T cell receptor activation by dynamic membrane binding of the CD3epsilon cytoplasmic tyrosine-based motif The cytoplasmic tail of the T cell receptor CD3 epsilon subunit contains a phospholipid-binding motif that regulates T cell functions Phosphorylation of T cell receptor zeta is regulated by a lipid dependent folding transition What controls T cell receptor phosphorylation Mechanism of inhibition of protein-tyrosine phosphatases by vanadate and pervanadate Response multilayered control of T cell receptor phosphorylation Structural understanding of T cell receptor triggering Ca2+ regulates T-cell receptor activation by modulating the charge property of lipids Second messenger role for Mg2+ revealed by human T-cell immunodeficiency Orai1 and STIM1 move to the immunological synapse and are up-regulated during T cell activation Lipid-binding activity of intrinsically unstructured cytoplasmic domains of multichain immune recognition receptor signaling subunits ZAP-70 is constitutively associated with tyrosine-phosphorylated TCR zeta in murine thymocytes and lymph node T cells Constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of the T-cell receptor (TCR) zeta subunit: regulation of TCR-associated protein tyrosine kinase activity by TCR zeta CD4+ T cell survival is not directly linked to self-MHC-induced TCR signaling Insights into the initiation of TCR signaling Lck bound to coreceptor is less active than free Lck Two-stage cooperative T cell receptor-peptide major histocompatibility complex-CD8 trimolecular interactions amplify antigen discrimination Ligand-engaged TCR is triggered by Lck not associated with CD8 coreceptor Mechanism of Lck recruitment to the T-cell receptor cluster as studied by single-molecule-fluorescence video imaging Dynamics of the coreceptor-LCK interactions during T cell development shape the self-reactivity of peripheral CD4 and CD8 T cells Ionic CD3-Lck interaction regulates the initiation of T-cell receptor signaling ZAP-70: an essential kinase in T-cell signaling Binding of ZAP-70 to phosphorylated T-cell receptor zeta and eta enhances its autophosphorylation and generates specific binding sites for SH2 domain-containing proteins Dual role of SLP-76 in mediating T cell receptor-induced activation of phospholipase C-gamma1 Diacylglycerol kinases in immune cell function and self-tolerance Inositol trisphosphate and calcium signalling mechanisms IP3 receptor-mediated calcium signaling and its role in autophagy in cancer CRACM1 is a plasma membrane protein essential for store-operated Ca2+ entry The CRAC channel consists of a tetramer formed by Stim-induced dimerization of Orai dimers STIM1 and STIM2-mediated Ca(2+) influx regulates antitumour immunity by CD8(+) T cells STIM1 is a Ca2+ sensor that activates CRAC channels and migrates from the Ca2+ store to the plasma membrane NFAT proteins: key regulators of T-cell development and function Transcriptional mechanisms underlying lymphocyte tolerance T cell anergy is reversed by active Ras and is regulated by diacylglycerol kinase-alpha Disruption of diacylglycerol metabolism impairs the induction of T cell anergy Calcium-dependent transcription of cytokine genes in T lymphocytes A primary T-cell immunodeficiency associated with defective transmembrane calcium influx Severe combined immunodeficiency due to defective binding of the nuclear factor of activated T cells in T lymphocytes of two male siblings The calcium feedback loop and T cell activation: how cytoskeleton networks control intracellular calcium flux The mechanism of protein kinase C regulation explicit and emergent actions of PKC isoforms in cancer Protein kinase C expression is deregulated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia Protein kinase C (PKC) as a drug target in chronic lymphocytic leukemia Involvement of distinct PKC gene products in T cell functions T-cell antigen receptor-induced signal-transduction pathways-activation and function of protein kinases C in T lymphocytes Intervention of PKC-theta as an immunosuppressive regimen NF-kappaB and extrinsic cell death pathways—entwined do-or-die decisions for T cells Essential role of NF-kappa B-inducing kinase in T cell activation through the TCR/CD3 pathway Paradigm of T cell signaling: learning from malignancies The CBM-opathies—a rapidly expanding spectrum of human inborn errors of immunity caused by mutations in the CARD11-BCL10-MALT1 complex Phosphorylation of CARMA1 plays a critical role in T cell receptor-mediated NF-kappaB activation Deciphering the pathway from the TCR to NF-kappaB The TRAF6 ubiquitin ligase and TAK1 kinase mediate IKK activation by BCL10 and MALT1 in T lymphocytes Bcl10 activates the NF-kappaB pathway through ubiquitination of NEMO Transcriptional regulation via the NF-kappaB signaling module Regulation of the PKCtheta-NF-kappaB axis in T lymphocytes by the tumor necrosis factor receptor family member OX40 Antigen-receptor signaling to nuclear factor kappa B Molecular mechanisms of constitutive NF-kappaB/Rel activation in Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells Chronic activation of the kinase IKKbeta impairs T cell function and survival a Ras guanyl nucleotide- releasing protein with calcium- and diacylglycerol-binding motifs Activation of ternary complex factor Elk-1 by MAP kinases Coordinating ERK/MAPK signalling through scaffolds and inhibitors Ras-ERK1/2 signaling accelerates the progression of colorectal cancer via mediation of H2BK5ac Dual-specificity phosphatase 6 regulates CD4+ T-cell functions and restrains spontaneous colitis in IL-10-deficient mice Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway control of CD8+ T cell differentiation Vav-Rac1-mediated activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/c-Jun/AP-1 pathway plays a major role in stimulation of the distal NFAT site in the interleukin-2 gene promoter STAT3 serine phosphorylation by ERK-dependent and -independent pathways negatively modulates its tyrosine phosphorylation ERK activation in CAR T cells is amplified by CD28-mediated increase in CD3zeta phosphorylation RasGRP is essential for mouse thymocyte differentiation and TCR signaling Critical roles of RasGRP1 for invariant NKT cell development Differential requirement of RasGRP1 for gammadelta T cell development and activation Negative regulation of mTOR activation by diacylglycerol kinases The role of Ras signaling in lupus T lymphocytes: biology and pathogenesis Signal transduction by MAP kinases in T lymphocytes Regulation of the immune response by stress-activated protein kinases The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase regulates effector functions of primary human CD4 T cells c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK)1 and JNK2 have distinct roles in CD8(+) T cell activation Defective T cell differentiation in the absence of Jnk1 Diversity and versatility of p38 kinase signalling in health and disease c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling: recent advances and challenges Signal transduction by the JNK group of MAP kinases The structure of phosphorylated p38gamma is monomeric and reveals a conserved activation-loop conformation Alternative p38 activation pathway mediated by T cell receptor-proximal tyrosine kinases Intensity and duration of TCR signaling is limited by p38 phosphorylation of ZAP-70(T293) and destabilization of the signalosome CARMA1-mediated NF-kappaB and JNK activation in lymphocytes The CARMA1-Bcl10 signaling complex selectively regulates JNK2 kinase in the T cell receptor-signaling pathway Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase and nutrient-sensing mTOR pathways control T lymphocyte trafficking Regulation and function of mTOR signalling in T cell fate decisions The kinase mTOR regulates the differentiation of helper T cells through the selective activation of signaling by mTORC1 and mTORC2 Mammalian target of rapamycin protein complex 2 regulates differentiation of Th1 and Th2 cell subsets via distinct signaling pathways Regulation of T cells by mTOR: the known knowns and the known unknowns T cell receptor-dependent activation of mTOR signaling in T cells is mediated by Carma1 and MALT1 Inflammatory T cell responses rely on amino acid transporter ASCT2 facilitation of glutamine uptake and mTORC1 kinase activation mTOR and metabolic regulation of conventional and regulatory T cells mTOR signaling and metabolic regulation of T cells: new potential therapeutic targets in autoimmune diseases TCR and CD28 concomitant stimulation elicits a distinctive calcium response in naive T cells CARMA1 is required for Akt-mediated NF-kappaB activation in T cells The kinase PDK1 integrates T cell antigen receptor and CD28 coreceptor signaling to induce NF-kappaB and activate T cells Regulation of naive T cell function by the NF-kappaB2 pathway VAV proteins as signal integrators for multi-subunit immune-recognition receptors Tyrosine-phosphorylated Vav1 as a point of integration for T-cell receptor- and CD28-mediated activation of JNK B cell adaptor for PI3-kinase (BCAP) modulates CD8(+) effector and memory T cell differentiation LAT: the ZAP-70 tyrosine kinase substrate that links T cell receptor to cellular activation Phosphorylation of SLP-76 by the ZAP-70 protein-tyrosine kinase is required for T-cell receptor function LAT: a T lymphocyte adapter protein that couples the antigen receptor to downstream signaling pathways SLP76 and SLP65: complex regulation of signalling in lymphocytes and beyond Myristylation and palmitylation of Src family members: the fats of the matter Rapid plasma membrane anchoring of newly synthesized p59fyn: selective requirement for NH2-terminal myristoylation and palmitoylation at cysteine-3 S-acylation of LCK protein tyrosine kinase is essential for its signalling function in T lymphocytes Membrane compartmentation is required for efficient T cell activation Engagement of T cell receptor triggers its recruitment to low-density detergent-insoluble membrane domains p56lck interacts via its src homology 2 domain with the ZAP-70 kinase Tyrosine 319 in the interdomain B of ZAP-70 is a binding site for the Src homology 2 domain of Lck CBAP promotes thymocyte negative selection by facilitating T-cell receptor proximal signaling CBAP modulates Akt-dependent TSC2 phosphorylation to promote Rheb-mTORC1 signaling and growth of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia Increases in tyrosine phosphorylation are detectable before phospholipase C activation after T cell receptor stimulation LAT palmitoylation: its essential role in membrane microdomain targeting and tyrosine phosphorylation during T cell activation and phospholipase C-gamma 1 with phosphorylated LAT tyrosine residues Effect of LAT tyrosine mutations on T cell angigen receptor-mediated signaling Phosphorylation of Tyr319 in ZAP-70 is required for T-cell antigen receptor-dependent phospholipase C-gamma1 and Ras activation Adaptor function for the Syk kinases-interacting protein 3BP2 in IL-2 gene activation Requirement of the Src homology 2 domain protein Shb for T cell receptor-dependent activation of the interleukin-2 gene nuclear factor for activation of T cells element in Jurkat T cells Genetic evidence for differential coupling of Syk family kinases to the T-cell receptor: reconstitution studies in a ZAP-70-deficient Jurkat T-cell line LAT is required for TCR-mediated activation of PLCgamma1 and the Ras pathway Functional analysis of LAT in TCR-mediated signaling pathways using a LAT-deficient Jurkat cell line FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3/FLT3: from basic science to clinical implications Expression of GADS enhances FLT3-induced mitogenic signaling Mutation of the phospholipase C-gamma1-binding site of LAT affects both positive and negative thymocyte selection Interaction of Shc with Grb2 regulates association of Grb2 with mSOS The tyrosine kinase negative regulator c-Cbl as a RING-type The hematopoietic-specific adaptor protein gads functions in T-cell signaling via interactions with the SLP-76 and LAT adaptors Dissection of TNF receptor 1 effector functions: JNK activation is not linked to apoptosis while NF-kappaB activation prevents cell death Requirement for the SLP-76 adaptor GADS in T cell development SLP-76 expression is restricted to hemopoietic cells of monocyte and T lymphocyte lineage and is regulated during T cell maturation and activation Identification of a phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1) SH3 domain-binding site in SLP-76 required for T-cell receptor-mediated activation of PLC-gamma1 and NFAT Identification of the minimal tyrosine residues required for linker for activation of T cell function Differential role of SLP-76 domains in T cell development and function Implication of the GRB2-associated phosphoprotein SLP-76 in T cell receptor-mediated interleukin 2 production Three domains of SLP-76 are required for its optimal function in a T cell line Impaired viability and profound block in thymocyte development in mice lacking the adaptor protein SLP-76 Requirement for the leukocyte-specific adapter protein SLP-76 for normal T cell development Regulation of PAK activation and the T cell cytoskeleton by the linker protein SLP-76 Interaction of SLP adaptors with the SH2 domain of Tec family kinases Biochemical interactions integrating Itk with the T cell receptor-initiated signaling cascade Positive regulation of T cell activation and integrin adhesion by the adapter Fyb/Slap Coupling of the TCR to integrin activation by Slap-130/Fyb Essential role of LAT in T cell development Increase of the catalytic activity of phospholipase C-gamma 1 by tyrosine phosphorylation The Tec family tyrosine kinases Itk and Rlk regulate the development of conventional CD8+ T cells Tec kinases regulate T-lymphocyte development and function: new insights into the roles of Itk and Rlk/Txk T cell receptor-initiated calcium release is uncoupled from capacitative calcium entry in Itk-deficient T cells Requirement for Tec kinases Rlk and Itk in T cell receptor signaling and immunity A role for the Tec family tyrosine kinase Txk in T cell activation and thymocyte selection Itk/Emt/Tsk activation in response to CD3 cross-linking in Jurkat T cells requires ZAP-70 and Lat and is independent of membrane recruitment Sequential phosphorylation of SLP-76 at tyrosine 173 is required for activation of T and mast cells The kinase Itk and the adaptor TSAd change the specificity of the kinase Lck in T cells by promoting the phosphorylation of Tyr192 SLP-76 mediates and maintains activation of the Tec family kinase ITK via the T cell antigen receptor-induced association between SLP-76 and ITK SLAM-associated protein deficiency causes imbalanced early signal transduction and blocks downstream activation in T cells from X-linked lymphoproliferative disease patients Importance and mechanism of ‘switch’ function of SAP family adapters The X-linked lymphoproliferative-disease gene product SAP regulates signals induced through the co-receptor SLAM CD150 association with either the SH2-containing inositol phosphatase or the SH2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase is regulated by the adaptor protein SH2D1A NK cell recognition of hematopoietic cells by SLAM-SAP families Biochemical and genetic evidence for a SAP-PKC-theta interaction contributing to IL-4 regulation The X-linked lymphoproliferative disease gene product SAP associates with PAK-interacting exchange factor and participates in T cell activation Binding of SAP SH2 domain to FynT SH3 domain reveals a novel mechanism of receptor signalling in immune regulation The XLP syndrome protein SAP interacts with SH3 proteins to regulate T cell signaling and proliferation The adaptor protein SAP directly associates with CD3zeta chain and regulates T cell receptor signaling Pediatric hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis X-Linked lymphoproliferative disease type 1: a clinical and molecular perspective Restimulation-induced apoptosis of T cells is impaired in patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative disease caused by SAP deficiency Restimulation-induced cell death: new medical and research perspectives The power and the promise of restimulation-induced cell death in human immune diseases Rethinking peripheral T cell tolerance: checkpoints across a T cell’s journey Phosphoprotein associated with glycosphingolipid-enriched microdomains (PAG) a novel ubiquitously expressed transmembrane adaptor protein binds the protein tyrosine kinase csk and is involved in regulation of T cell activation Transmembrane phosphoprotein Cbp regulates the activities of Src-family tyrosine kinases Transmembrane phosphoprotein Cbp positively regulates the activity of the carboxyl-terminal Src kinase Release from tonic inhibition of T cell activation through transient displacement of C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) from lipid rafts Phosphorylation-dependent regulation of T-cell activation by PAG/Cbp a lipid raft-associated transmembrane adaptor T-cell receptor proximal signaling via the Src-family kinases SHP2-interacting transmembrane adaptor protein (SIT) a novel disulfide-linked dimer regulating human T cell activation and chromosomal localization of the human gene encoding the SHP2-interacting transmembrane adaptor protein (SIT) Structural and functional dissection of the cytoplasmic domain of the transmembrane adaptor protein SIT (SHP2-interacting transmembrane adaptor protein) SHP1 phosphatase-dependent T cell inhibition by CEACAM1 adhesion molecule isoforms P.-1 and SHP-2 in T cells: two phosphatases functioning at many levels TCR ligand discrimination is enforced by competing ERK positive and SHP-1 negative feedback pathways Spatiotemporal regulation of ERK2 by dual specificity phosphatases Negative regulation of PKB/Akt-dependent cell survival by the tumor suppressor PTEN Regulation and functions of diacylglycerol kinases Beyond lipid signaling: pleiotropic effects of diacylglycerol kinases in cellular signaling Regulation of T cell receptor-induced activation of the Ras-ERK pathway by diacylglycerol kinase zeta Diacylglycerol-dependent binding recruits PKCtheta and RasGRP1 C1 domains to specific subcellular localizations in living T lymphocytes Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs): novel targets for improving T cell activity in cancer Enhanced T cell responses due to diacylglycerol kinase zeta deficiency The role of diacylglycerol kinases in T cell anergy Synergistic control of T cell development and tumor suppression by diacylglycerol kinase alpha and zeta SAP-mediated inhibition of diacylglycerol kinase alpha regulates TCR-induced diacylglycerol signaling X-linked lymphoproliferative disease due to SAP/SH2D1A deficiency: a multicenter study on the manifestations Inhibition of diacylglycerol kinase alpha restores restimulation-induced cell death and reduces immunopathology in XLP-1 Structural insights into the catalysis and regulation of E3 ubiquitin ligases Calcineurin imposes T cell unresponsiveness through targeted proteolysis of signaling proteins Degradation of Bcl10 induced by T-cell activation negatively regulates NF-kappa B signaling Jun turnover is controlled through JNK-dependent phosphorylation of the E3 ligase Itch The E3 ubiquitin ligase Itch in T cell activation c-Cbl and Cbl-b regulate T cell responsiveness by promoting ligand-induced TCR down-modulation Cbl promotes ubiquitination of the T cell receptor zeta through an adaptor function of Zap-70 Tissue hyperplasia and enhanced T-cell signalling via ZAP-70 in c-Cbl-deficient mice Association of tyrosine protein kinase Zap-70 with the protooncogene product p120c-cbl in T lymphocytes A novel phosphotyrosine-binding domain in the N-terminal transforming region of Cbl interacts directly and selectively with ZAP-70 in T cells Characterization of Cbl tyrosine phosphorylation and a Cbl-Syk complex in RBL-2H3 cells Negative regulation of lymphocyte activation and autoimmunity by the molecular adaptor Cbl-b Formation of c-Cbl.phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complexes on lymphocyte membranes by a p56lck-independent mechanism Four proline-rich sequences of the guanine-nucleotide exchange factor C3G bind with unique specificity to the first Src homology 3 domain of Crk a guanine nucleotide-releasing protein expressed ubiquitously binds to the Src homology 3 domains of CRK and GRB2/ASH proteins Identification of Rap1 as a target for the Crk SH3 domain-binding guanine nucleotide-releasing factor C3G Interactions of Cbl with two adapter proteins Stimulation through the T cell receptor induces Cbl association with Crk proteins and the guanine nucleotide exchange protein C3G Enhancement of guanine-nucleotide exchange activity of C3G for Rap1 by the expression of Crk T cell receptor-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of Cas-L a 105-kDa Crk-associated substrate-related protein Rap1 is a potent activation signal for leukocyte function-associated antigen 1 distinct from protein kinase C and phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase Downstream of Crk adaptor signaling pathway: activation of Jun kinase by v-Crk through the guanine nucleotide exchange protein C3G Negative regulation of Rap1 activation by the Cbl E3 ubiquitin ligase Negative regulation of T cell antigen receptor-mediated Crk-L-C3G signaling and cell adhesion by Cbl-b Involvement of the adapter protein CRKL in integrin-mediated adhesion Separate signaling events control TCR downregulation and T cell activation in primary human T cells The immunological synapse and the actin cytoskeleton: molecular hardware for T cell signaling Three-dimensional segregation of supramolecular activation clusters in T cells The immunological synapse: a molecular machine controlling T cell activation Signaling takes shape in the immune system A supramolecular basis for CD45 tyrosine phosphatase regulation in sustained T cell activation Dynamic actin polymerization drives T cell receptor-induced spreading: a role for the signal transduction adaptor LAT p95vav associates with tyrosine-phosphorylated SLP-76 in antigen-stimulated T cells Association of Nck with tyrosine-phosphorylated SLP-76 in activated T lymphocytes ADAP-SLP-76 binding differentially regulates supramolecular activation cluster (SMAC) formation relative to T cell-APC conjugation The interaction between N-WASP and the Arp2/3 complex links Cdc42-dependent signals to actin assembly Vav is a regulator of cytoskeletal reorganization mediated by the T-cell receptor Defects in actin-cap formation in Vav-deficient mice implicate an actin requirement for lymphocyte signal transduction The vav exchange factor is an essential regulator in actin-dependent receptor translocation to the lymphocyte-antigen-presenting cell interface CD19 as a membrane-anchored adaptor protein of B lymphocytes: costimulation of lipid and protein kinases by recruitment of Vav The Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP): roles in signaling and cytoskeletal organization Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein-deficient mice reveal a role for WASP in T but not B cell activation Antigen receptor-induced activation and cytoskeletal rearrangement are impaired in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein-deficient lymphocytes Regulation of actin polymerization by Arp2/3 complex and WASp/Scar proteins How WASP-family proteins and the Arp2/3 complex convert intracellular signals into cytoskeletal structures Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein physically associates with Nck through Src homology 3 domains SLP-76 coordinates Nck-dependent Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein recruitment with Vav-1/Cdc42-dependent Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein activation at the T cell-APC contact site and Vav1 multimolecular complex formation in live human cells with triple-color FRET Cooperative interactions at the SLP-76 complex are critical for actin polymerization T cell specific adaptor protein (TSAd) promotes interaction of Nck with Lck and SLP-76 in T cells The Nck family of adapter proteins: regulators of actin cytoskeleton Nck adapter proteins: functional versatility in T cells T cell specific adapter protein (TSAd) interacts with Tec kinase ITK to promote CXCL12 induced migration of human and murine T cells The adapter protein Nck: role of individual SH3 and SH2 binding modules for protein interactions in T lymphocytes Nck2 promotes human melanoma cell proliferation migration and invasion in vitro and primary melanoma-derived tumor growth in vivo Cloning of a novel T-cell protein FYB that binds FYN and SH2-domain-containing leukocyte protein 76 and modulates interleukin 2 production FYN-T-FYB-SLP-76 interactions define a T-cell receptor zeta/CD3-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation pathway that up-regulates interleukin 2 transcription in T-cells Cutting edge: SLP-76 cooperativity with FYB/FYN-T in the Up-regulation of TCR-driven IL-2 transcription requires SLP-76 binding to FYB at Tyr595 and Tyr651 Cutting edge: a novel function for the SLAP-130/FYB adapter protein in beta 1 integrin signaling and T lymphocyte migration SKAP-55 regulates integrin adhesion and formation of T cell-APC conjugates Actin polymerization downstream of integrins: signaling pathways and mechanotransduction Fyn-binding protein (Fyb)/SLP-76-associated protein (SLAP) Ena/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) proteins and the Arp2/3 complex link T cell receptor (TCR) signaling to the actin cytoskeleton FYB (FYN binding protein) serves as a binding partner for lymphoid protein and FYN kinase substrate SKAP55 and a SKAP55-related protein in T cells a novel protein that associates with the protein tyrosine kinase p59fyn in human T-lymphocytes SKAP55 recruits to lipid rafts and positively mediates the MAPK pathway upon T cell receptor activation Crk and CrkL adaptor proteins: networks for physiological and pathological signaling Involvement of crk adapter proteins in regulation of lymphoid cell functions Crk family adaptors-signalling complex formation and biological roles Crk at the quarter century mark: perspectives in signaling and cancer The adaptor protein Crk in immune response Evaluating STAT5 phosphorylation as a mean to assess T cell proliferation Akt and STAT5 mediate naive human CD4+ T-cell early metabolic response to TCR stimulation The role of Crk adaptor proteins in T-cell adhesion and migration Mutations in the tyrosine phosphatase CD45 gene in a child with severe combined immunodeficiency disease A deletion in the gene encoding the CD45 antigen in a patient with SCID T-cell signalling and immune system disorders Defect of lck in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency Defective expression of p56lck in an infant with severe combined immunodeficiency Human severe combined immunodeficiency due to a defect in ZAP-70 Defective T cell receptor signaling and CD8+ thymic selection in humans lacking zap-70 kinase Down-regulation of the T cell receptor CD3 zeta chain in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its influence on T cell responsiveness CD3 zeta defects in systemic lupus erythematosus Altered thymic T-cell selection due to a mutation of the ZAP-70 gene causes autoimmune arthritis in mice The adaptor protein NTAL enhances proximal signaling and potentiates corticosteroid-induced apoptosis in T-ALL Adaptor molecules expression in normal lymphopoiesis and in childhood leukemia Genomic profiling of Sezary syndrome 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citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41392-021-00823-w Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Egyptian Journal of Medical Human Genetics (2025) Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy (2025) Victorian jury finds Sakina Muhammad Jan guilty of coercing Ruqia Haidari into marrying Perth man Mohammad Ali Halimi A mother has been found guilty of forcing her 20-year-old daughter to marry an older man before he murdered the young woman faced a two-week trial in the county court after denying she coerced her daughter into marrying the man from Western Australia in 2019 Prosecutors said Ruqia Haidari told her mother she did not want to marry Mohammad Ali Halimi and accused Jan of handing her daughter over to him in exchange for a $10,000 dowry Halimi killed his new wife at their Perth home in January 2020 and is serving life imprisonment in WA, with a minimum of 19 years. The young woman was seen to have “lost her value” due to being divorced, when Jan tried to arrange the marriage, prosecutor Darren Renton previously told the jury. Read moreAfter a matchmaker became involved a meeting was arranged with Halimi who flew from Perth to Shepparton on 1 June 2019 Haidari was married to him in an Islamic ceremony on a temporary basis She had told multiple people she did not want to be married to Halimi The jury deliberated for just over a day before returning their guilty verdict on Thursday afternoon Jurors were not told about Haidari’s murder during the trial but these details can now be revealed since a verdict has been delivered Jan will face a pre-sentence hearing at a later date Bahaar Joya,Emma Batha An Afghan woman paints a tray at a handicraft centre in Kabul run by Laila Haidari Women in Afghanistan turn to home-based jobs and set up clandestine businesses to get around Taliban curbs on their freedom LONDON - Five months after Taliban supporters smashed up her restaurant Afghan entrepreneur Laila Haidari opened a secret craft centre where women earn a small income stitching elaborate dresses and fashioning jewellery from melted down bullet casings Her workshop is among an array of underground businesses that women have launched since losing their jobs after the Taliban grabbed power in 2021, ranging from gyms to beauty salons and girls' schools "I opened this centre to provide jobs for women who desperately need them," Haidari said but at least it will help them put food on their table." barred girls from secondary and higher education and imposed harsh restrictions on their freedom of movement But thousands of women continue to run micro-enterprises from their homes - which officials broadly allow while others like Haidari oversee more clandestine businesses used to own a lively Kabul restaurant that was known for its music and poetry evenings and was popular with intellectuals The profits were ploughed into a drugs rehabilitation centre she set up nearby But a few days after the Taliban seized the country gunmen and locals threw out the rehabilitation centre's patients destroyed her restaurant and looted the furniture Her handicrafts enterprise now subsidises an underground school providing 200 girls with lessons in maths "I don't want Afghan girls to forget their knowledge and then we will have another illiterate generation," she said referring to the women and girls deprived of education during the Taliban's last rule from 1996 to 2001 employs about 50 women who earn $58 a month "If the Taliban try to stop me I'll tell them they must pay me and pay these women," she said Afghan women weave a rug at a handicraft centre in Kabul run by Laila Haidari Afghan entrepreneur Laila Haidari wears clothing made at a handicraft centre she set up in Kabul beads and bullet casings are pictured at a handicraft centre in Kabul run by Laila Haidari in 2022 The Taliban's return to power has rapidly reversed two decades of internationally backed efforts to boost economic opportunities for women that saw donors pour several billion dollars into empowerment programmes Most businesses set up by women prior to 2021 were informal cottage industries like bakeries but they had increasingly made inroads into traditionally male sectors such as IT were running cafes and restaurants – also considered a male domain in Afghanistan given the taboos around women interacting with men outside the home A few Afghan women continue to run large enterprises from abroad in sectors including mining But many others have closed their businesses amid Afghanistan's severe economic crisis. The Taliban takeover triggered the meltdown after foreign governments cut funding and froze the country's bank assets but the difficulties for women are compounded by Taliban curbs on their movement including a ban on travel without a "mahram" - a male relative to act as a chaperone used to go to Pakistan and Iran to buy fabrics for her tailoring studio in the western city of Herat from where she creates outfits for clients inspired by celebrities' social media posts With her income already squeezed by the economic crisis she cannot afford to take a chaperone with her But when she sent a male family member to Pakistan in her place he returned with the wrong fabrics Sekhawat's monthly income has fallen from about $600 to $200 or less Demand for party dresses and outfits for professional women plummeted after most lost their jobs The Taliban's rules on chaperones make it difficult for women to buy raw materials meet people to do business with or sell their merchandise The restrictions also make it harder for female customers to reach them "I used to make regular business trips abroad by myself but now I can't even go out for a coffee," Sekhawat said Some days I just go to my room and scream." Images of women on a beauty salon are seen painted over in Kabul in a photo taken September 2021 Tailor Wajiha Sekhawat works on a pattern at her home studio in Herat Afghan women work at Wajiha Sekhawat's tailoring studio in Herat The Taliban's restrictions are particularly hard for the country's estimated 2 million widows but may not have anyone to act as a mahram Sadaf relied on the income from her busy Kabul beauty salon to support her five children manicures and wedding makeovers to a clientele ranging from government workers to TV presenters began running her business from home after the Taliban told her to shut her salon But with clients having lost their own jobs Her monthly income dropped from about $600 to $200 In the aftermath of the Taliban takeover, social media was awash with images of beauty salons where posters of women's faces had been painted over But rules varied between districts and many businesses - unlike Sadaf's - were allowed to reopen last month the authorities ordered all salons to shut saying they offered treatments that went against their Islamic values More than 60,000 women are likely to lose their jobs Sadaf fears the Taliban will also start targeting women like her providing treatments from their homes Despite erasing women from most areas of public life the Taliban have not banned them from running businesses and some aid organisations continue to oversee employment projects Global charity CARE runs a large programme which started before the Taliban took power "There is so much demand because no one wants to have to be reliant on humanitarian aid," said Melissa Cornet "Women are just desperate to get any type of livelihood they can." But aid agencies have had to adapt their programmes "We've had to refocus more on training women in crafts they can do from home - tailoring embroidery or making foodstuffs like cookies "Some had wanted to set up small shops but today it would be super challenging to do that." Although incomes are typically less than $100 a month, Cornet said this could be life-changing for a family at a time when unemployment is through the roof and 85% of the population is living under the poverty line Aid agencies said they promoted the economic benefits of allowing women to work when negotiating with Taliban authorities "We tell them if we create jobs it means that these women can feed their family it means they are paying taxes," Cornet said "We try to have a pragmatic approach and usually it's quite successful The Taliban are very keen on the economic argument." (Reporting by Emma Batha and Bahaar Joya in London; Writing by Emma Batha; Editing by Sonia Elks.) Context is powered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation Newsroom Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles From spiraling poverty to banning women from education These links open on reuters.com By providing your email, you agree to our Privacy Policy What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for LGBTQ+ rights? Indigenous forest peoples can finally control nature finance Inside Trump's $6mn deportee deal with El Salvador mega-prison Half London councils found using Chinese surveillance tech Portable internet helps Asia's scam centres bypass blackouts How is Bangladesh preparing farmers for increasingly salty soil? Context is a media platform created by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. We provide news and analysis that contextualises how critical issues and events affect ordinary people, society and the environment. Find out more. The Workforce Disclosure Initiative is an investor-backed project to improve the quantity & quality of corporate workforce data via an annual survey & engagement process Trust Conference is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s flagship annual event taking place in the heart of London each year TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono service facilitating free legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises around the world I’m sharing tears of joy with friends on temporary visas who now have certainty but there is sorrow for those who are not eligible When I received the news late on Sunday night that the visa class I’m on is being scrapped so I can apply to stay in Australia permanently, I went straight to social media. I had to tell my network the news as soon as possible because I could hardly believe it was happening. Then the phone calls started. I was soon sharing tears with friends who have spent too long receiving bad news – we couldn’t comprehend that we would finally have certainty and agency over our futures. I spoke to mothers and fathers who will call their children and partners and tell them that they will be reunited and safe. I can imagine that conversation and how proud and joyful that call would be – a parent being able to offer their families what we all crave: safety and a future. It really says something that the announcement by the government that a cohort of about 19,000 people currently on temporary protection visas (TPVs) and safe haven enterprise visas (SHEVs) can now apply for permanency is being celebrated as a victory. It was, after all, the fulfilment of an election promise for which the Albanese government received a mandate from the Australian people at the ballot box last May. It says a lot about the disgusting and cruel state of policy towards people seeking asylum over the past 30 years that the bare minimum of honouring human rights conventions we committed to in 1951 is the cause of such celebration. This policy change shows that our voices are powerful and when presented with the facts, Australians do welcome us with open armsAnd it is most definitely a celebration for the 19,000 people who, like me, have been living from visa application to visa application for a decade. For them, today my heart is full. They will be able to plan for a future, to borrow money to buy their own homes or to start a business, just as they always should have been able. But I haven’t forgotten about the other people whose fate is subject to the arbitrary application of visa classes. There are at least 1,000 people who will “never ever” be allowed to call Australia home. Only those who entered Australia before Operation Sovereign Borders started in 2013 who hold or have applied for a protection visa are eligible. The only difference between the people who have been told they will never settle in Australia and everyone else on temporary protection visas is an arbitrary date that saw one group taken offshore and told they will never ever be allowed to settle here. This contravenes the refugee convention and people’s right to seek protection and permanent solutions. Australia has an obligation under the refugee convention to treat everyone fleeing persecution and seeking refuge equally – no matter how they arrive, including by sea. That we’ve had such brutal policies for so long shows the success the fearmongers have had in taking away the humanity of people like me. Read moreBut because we’ve been able to share our stories we’ve shown that we are in fact not faceless hordes of people greedy for the jobs of honest Australians We’re people just like you who love our families and friends and want to remain with them in our places of origin This policy change shows that our voices are powerful and when presented with the facts, Australians do welcome us with open arms. In fact, Amnesty’s latest research shows that three-quarters of Australians want refugees to be settled here The refugee convention was drafted in the wake of the second world war and was signed under the leadership of arguably one of Australia’s most conservative prime ministers But it acknowledged that people fleeing from the horror and destruction of war and persecution deserve our help We know people seeking safety contribute in so many ways to the richness of our communities They’re not to be feared and dehumanising them reduces all of us I think we can safely say Australians have embraced again the idea that compassion isn’t a limited resource and we can share our good fortune with those who need it most This win shows that we’re done with this mean-spirited period in Australian history It offers us a new start at showing the moral leadership we had in 1951 but which we lost for a while Zaki Haidari fled Afghanistan as a teenager He is now a campaigner at Amnesty International Australia She taught mixed classes of male and female students and helped patients struggling with gender identity issues and together they did their best to provide a good education for their 18-year-old son and two daughters aged 13 and eight That comfortable life came to an abrupt halt on Aug when the former insurgents who adhere to a strict interpretation of Islam swept back into power following a costly two-decade U.S.-led campaign to remake the country was among the many women who fled the Taliban fearing a return to the practices of their previous rule in the late 1990s including largely barring girls and women from education and work after a daring escape through Pakistan aided by Italian volunteers who arranged for her and her family to be hosted in the Italian capital's suburbs She is among thousands of Afghani women seeking to maintain an active social role in the countries that have taken them in Haidari and her husband are studying Italian while being financially supported by various associations She keeps in touch with feminist organizations back home and tries to maintain contact with some of her patients via the internet "When my son passed the exam to access the faculty of Medicine at a university in Rome during a commute to her Italian classes in central Rome "Because if I came to a European country it was mainly for the future of my children." the Taliban initially promised to respect women's and minorities' rights they gradually imposed a ban on girls' education beyond sixth grade kept women away from most fields of employment and forced them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public She became an outspoken activist of the Afghanistan Women's Political Participation Network to fight for women's education Haidari was not only an educated female activist but also a member of the Hazara ethnic group The Hazara minority has been a frequent target of violence since the Taliban takeover despised and targeted by Sunni militants like the Islamic State group and discriminated against by many in the Sunni majority country Haidari received death threats for her research on sexual abuse of children in Afghan society helped her get on a plane from Pakistan to Italy The Italian government evacuated more than 5,000 Afghans on military planes right after the Taliban takeover Catholic and Evangelical Churches and volunteers like Mazzola kept organizing humanitarian corridors and set up hospitality in Italy throughout the following year who works for Italian public RAI TV and is an expert on Islamic fundamentalism created a network of associations to host 70 Afghans mostly Hazara women activists and their families Now that the refugees are in Italy and gradually getting asylum the priority is to secure for them official recognition of their university degrees or other qualifications that will help them find dignified employment While she said she misses the streets and alleys of Kabul "most of all I miss the fact that in Afghanistan I was a much more useful person." where Taliban forces have retaken many cities following the rapid collapse of the U.S.-backed government has some local Afghans worried about the safety of their loved ones overseas The International Institute of St. Louis is preparing to potentially resettle more refugees from Afghanistan whom the Taliban may target for retribution because of their work supporting the U.S Among those who are worried about their relatives is Sayed Mahdi Haidari in 2017 after eight years working with the U.S where he supervised more than 100 interpreters spread across the country He now lives in Fenton with his wife and 7-year-old daughter The family doesn’t know his current whereabouts but mentally my mind is not here because I’m really worried about them,” said Haidari whose brother and two sisters live in Afghanistan “Nobody knows what’s going to happen to him,” Haidari said of his brother-in-law his sister’s family will need to flee Afghanistan to avoid persecution Haidari is particularly concerned that the Taliban will discover his U.S.-based phone number Taliban forces would view American connections as suspicious Haidari tried to keep his work with the U.S military a secret and moved repeatedly when his neighbors discovered his profession Louis Mayor Tishuara Jones issued a joint statement Tuesday declaring that the region is ready to welcome “at least” 1,000 Afghans who secure Special Immigrant Visas Congress created the visa category in 2009 for Iraqis and Afghans who worked as interpreters for U.S “[W]e will work with our community partners to support any additional migration to the region by Afghan families and friends to help with reunification efforts,” Page and Jones said in the statement Louis is among the cities that the federal government has identified as potential locations for people entering the country with the special visas The International Institute has resettled 626 Afghans in the St Nearly half of those refugees arrived since 2018 More than 80% obtained Special Immigration Visas As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated in recent weeks during the drawdown of U.S on temporary visas have reached out to the International Institute for help making their status permanent The agency has seen 15 such “walk-ins” in the past three weeks and President & CEO Arrey Obenson said he expects that number to double shortly anticipating that there would be a steady flow of Afghans over an extended period of time,” Obenson said But the Taliban’s rapid takeover of the country has spurred his organization to speed up its efforts “What creates a lot more uncertainty is that we are going to see a wave rather than a steady flow,” Obenson said “What that means is that we need to accelerate our efforts locally to be able to have the capacity if that wave comes.” The International Institute is trying to secure housing for incoming Afghan refugees and plans to hire five new staff members to increase its capacity to relocate people Follow Jeremy on Twitter: @jeremydgoodwin Rochester,NY (PRWEB) April 06, 2014 -- The Allstate Premier Agency designation is bestowed on less than 48 percent of Allstate’s nearly 10,000 agency owners across the country. This designation is being presented to Jay Haidari for his outstanding business performance and commitment to putting customers at the center of his agency’s work The honor also demonstrates Jay’s commitment in being accessible to customers and using knowledge to help ensure customers have the insurance products they need to protect themselves and their family “The Premier Agency designation is not just about Jay’s successful business results,” said Eva McIntee field vice president for Allstate New York “The honor also demonstrates Jay’s commitment in being accessible to customers and using knowledge to help ensure customers have the insurance products they need to protect themselves and their family.” Jay Haidari has lived in Rochester for most of his life and has been serving the community and their insurance needs for over eight years The Haidari agency has two locations making it more convenient for his clients The offices are located at 3366 Latta Road Suite 4 in Rochester and 10 East Main Street and are widely known through the slogan “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®.” In 2013 $29 million was given by The Allstate Foundation its employees and agency owners to support local communities Allstate employees and agency owners donated 200,000 hours of service across the country About NALA™ The NALA is a full service marketing agency for local business owners offering online advertising PR Contact: Tiffani Tendell ttendell(at)thenala(dot)com 805.650.6121 Tiffani Tendell, Executive Business Services (theNALA), http://www.thenala.com, +1 (805) 650-6121 Ext: 361, [email protected] Do not sell or share my personal information: Jay Haidari switched from cars to carving and cutting when he realized his hobby could become a career Haidari is co-owner of Upstate Granite and Marble a Henrietta shop that sells and designs countertops and more for kitchens and bathrooms He and business partner Arthur Jurczuk founded the company a decade ago after originally running an auto-body shop together “I always liked working with natural stone,” Haidari said It started as a passion for natural stone .. and I knew there was an opportunity to make this business grow more than the auto-body shop.” Upstate Granite and Marble focuses on granite and marble countertops The business also sells flooring and wall products Haidari said the career transition was gradual and methodical — he and Jurczuk originally sold granite and marble while still fixing autos at their shop on Hudson Avenue Shifting gears seemed to be a rock-solid proposition but not to the point (like with) granite,” he said It took about a year to gain customers to generate money The business moved from Hudson Avenue to Henrietta about four years ago Haidari said about 60 percent of the customers are homeowners and the rest come are a combination of new-home builders Business tends to increase after people get their tax money back The two-story Henrietta showroom has about 3,000 square feet of space Upstate has about 1,000 slabs of stone in stock Granite has always been popular among homeowners who like the strength you’ll always recoup your investment,” he said “It’s an excellent selling point for your house Granite never goes out of style.” The business does installation jobs and delivers within a 90-mile radius Haidari moved with his family from their native Afghanistan when he was 15 and Jurczuk arrived from Poland a few years before that Haidari graduated from Fairport High School went to college and then to work at an automotive shop They started their own auto-body business when Haidari was 20 Working for someone else never appealed to Haidari or Jurczuk Neither did remaining in their native countries Your dream will come true here if you put your mind to it.” Alan Morrell is a Rochester-based freelance writer Location: 2063 Brighton-Henrietta Townline Road Executives: Jay Haidari and Arthur Jurczuk Website:www.upstategranitemarble.com Noor grew up believing that menstruation should be kept as a dirty secret “I would wake up for sehri and pretend to eat so that my dad and brothers didn’t know I was on my period,” she says she wishes to be referred to only by her first name for fear of upsetting her conservative family “My mum told me it was something I had to do to save the men in my family from discomfort.” Despite the fact that people are exempt from fasting and praying while menstruating in Islam many Muslim women recount growing up in families or wider communities where the subject of periods was taboo In order to spare the feelings of their male relatives many described pretending to pray and fast “It’s ridiculous when I look back on it now,” says Noor my family still haven’t changed their views.” grew up hiding the fact that she was on her period from her father — something she had learned to do from the women in her family because that’s what I’d seen my mum and sister do ‘I can’t just say I have my period’,” recalls the musician from London.  “Sometimes we’d have arguments because my dad would accuse me of lying,” Mohammed explains Then she would have to tell her mother about her period who would then pass on the message to her father “It just made me feel a bit icky and shameful,” she adds.  While such practices are often attributed to religion there is nothing in Islam that tells women to be ashamed of their periods.  “I wouldn’t extend the term Islamic or Muslim to any behaviours that deal with menstruation as a taboo,” says Dr Shuruq Naguib, a lecturer in Islamic Studies at Lancaster University. Indeed, menstruation is not regarded as something unsanitary The period of menstruation can be seen as bringing a state of ritual impurity allowing a break from regular religious duties acknowledging the mental and physical strain that menstruation can place upon the body.  habit and personal attitudes to their faith,” Naguib says “These cultural taboos around periods contrast with the Quranic textual tradition in its openness and even shocking explicitness Naguib is critical of cultural ideas that women should pretend to pray and fast while menstruating “Whatever God has asked us to do is an act of worship but an act of obedience — it’s an expression of worshipping God in the broad sense,” she says “There’s a lot of violation — emotionally and sometimes physically — that happens because women and younger girls are not allowed to speak on this very painful and vital part of their life growing up,” says Zayna Hasan “There’s no utility to hiding your health and bodily functions.”  “I felt a personal responsibility to speak up about it I think it’s very confusing growing up having to reckon with the fact that very normal things about you aren’t accepted,” she says are woefully and wilfully uneducated about things like this “The worst thing about it is that we’re told these things by our own mothers and grandmothers,” she says “It’s not men that are saying you should hide it — they’re the reason we’re hiding it — but because we’ve been told by another woman we feel like it must be right A lack of access to the information she needed to deal with heavy periods and painful cramps as a young girl led Dr Fatumina Said Abukar to work as a scientist and period educator Now she uses platforms such as TikTok to host live discussions about period health reaching a broad audience including people who may not have access to traditional support networks.  Though there is still some way to go before the structures that support period shame are dismantled Mohammed says she has “a lot of hope”.  “It causes us so much suffering and we’re just supposed to get on with life as if nothing’s happening — especially in Muslim households where you can’t even talk about it,” she says “I would also urge women to check in and connect with their bodies and see what it has to offer Hyphen is the leading media platform on Muslim life in the UK and Europe Sign up to our newsletter to receive our top stories straight to your inbox every week This form may not be visible due to adblockers © 2025 Hyphen® / Link Media Corporation Ltd 10 KOs) returned to action for the first time since June 19 last year winning a unanimous decision over Tanzanian Haidari Mchanjo Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy