since retaking power in 2021, the taliban have imposed severe restrictions on everyday life in afghanistan... ..limiting freedoms for women and banning non—religious music. and the consequences for those who dare to defy them are dire. but women are fighting back... ..using the power of their voice to resist a regime which the un says could be committing gender apartheid.

gunfire in this amount of darkness, there is a light still burning. still we see individuals fighting this oppression through their own talent. horns blare

gunfire after 20 years of a deadly war, the taliban return to power for the second time... ..rapidly introducing sweeping changes. restricting life for women becomes a top priority.

chanting as the world watches on, two sisters in afghanistan, who we won't identify for their own safety, witness first—hand the new taliban regime tightening its grip on the country. but the sisters have a plan. chanting

at a huge risk to their lives, the sisters started a movement on social media and called it the last torch. she sings a few days after the taliban's takeover, wearing blue burqas, the sisters released a song

which quickly went viral, even though no—one knew who they were. she sings soon after, they posted their next song, performing a famous poem by the late poet nadia anjuman. she protested the taliban when they first took power in 1996, in particular against the restrictions they placed on women. she sings

when i saw two women in the burqa singing, honestly, i was crying. acoustic guitar plays they call me a raptivist. that's a nickname

someone gave me! i really like it. it fits me. it fits my career, fits my music. i think it's a good stage name, as well. she raps so, this is my dreams book. and hopefully one day i can become the president of afghanistan! so many different dreams here. i wanted to collaborate with eminem one day.

my family here. my father. he passed away when i was probably...ten or nine. and this is me. i think i was five or six. not sure. i look angry. so serious as a kid! i had a lot of fear and not thinking of having a smile on my face. sonita alizada was born the same year the taliban first took power, in 1996. when she was just a child, her family escaped the taliban to iran. her mother tried to sell her off to a forced marriage, but she found her way out through music. when i was in iran, i saw my very close friends — after a short time, they had to leave school. so, this school,

now that i imagine it, each day you would see a difference in the class, because girls would be forced into marriage and they would disappear after a while. and that really gave me so much pain, and it turned me into a very angry person. and i heard eminem rapping. obviously, at that time i didn't know who he was. ijust heard him rapping, using the music, getting his anger out, and suddenly i felt like that could be me, i could use this type of music to get my anger out. i published one of my rap songs, daughters for sale. my mum really likes these pillows,

because they remind her of our home in afghanistan and they're very soft. i often want to talk more about my mum, cos some people, when they see my interviews, they are shocked why i still love my mum, because they think my mum wasn't a good person that was trying to sell me into marriage. they don't understand that she was also a survivor. she was also sold into marriage, so she didn't know anything else. # run, boy run, boy, run, boy, run, boy # run, boy run, boy, run, boy, run... # i put a lot of work into every song, every music i make. and usually i get messages from people, especially from men. obviously, they don't like what i do,

because i'm trying to empower woman. # run, boy girl # you need to stand up for yourself... # taliban obviously use religion as a tool to disable woman, because if they're going to be in power, they would not let the taliban to be in power. so it has to be woman or the taliban. in kabul, while women fought for their rights, the taliban continued to implement its own unique vision for afghanistan. it replaced the country's ministry of women's affairs with the ministry for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice. one of its mandates is to ban music and implement mandatory hijab. women came to protest. chanting

shouting

the sisters�* movement was gaining momentum online — a success on its own, but one which became increasingly dangerous.

she sings the risk was too high. the sisters felt compelled to leave their country, holding on to the hope of one day returning.

so, you know i wasn't allowed to rap. my family was always against it, and they thought it was shamefulfor a girl to pursue music. the last torch singing on monitor if you're trying to change something that is rooted really deeply in the society, it's not easy. i changed my momma's mind. it took seven or eight years. and that was just one person. i'm hoping that girls, women in afghanistan don't think that because they wrote five, ten, twenty songs, they still didn't change the situation for them. i want them to know that they won't go without a notice, without making a positive change in the society. back in 2001, when the taliban

were removed from power, music flourished in the country. tv channels aired hours of music programmes. afghanistan's national institute of music became a symbol of progress. it gained national and international prestige. but almost three years ago, when the taliban returned to power, it all regressed. hammering continues

music: hori hori by ustad mahwash farida mahwash is a prestigious voice from afghanistan, with fans across the region. she spent more than half a century onstage until recently retiring. she is also the only woman in afghanistan who achieved the title of ustad, or maestro. her legacy has inspired thousands of young girls to pursue music. cheering living legend! the voice of afghanistan, ustad mahwash!

farida: ah!

but even before the taliban, women have always battled against conservative values, especially in cities outside the capital, kabul. mahwash didn't give up, and she became a star.

then, the soviet union invaded afghanistan. the resistance gave birth tojihadi groups, who ignited a civil war. music and other similarforms of entertainment became forbidden. this is what happened to music cassettes when found in people's vehicles. singers like mahwash have had to fight multiple battles since. in afghanistan,

the taliban have intensified their crackdown on activists, banning women from holding rallies on the streets. this will be the third year that teenage girls are out of school. women are still banned from work and political participation. shouting the taliban's morality police

have been arresting women for not following the mandatory hijab rules. but women continue to find ways to protest and the sisters continue their movement. song continues on phone

i don't think anything in the world would stay in power forever. i believe that, like the first time, 1996, when the taliban took over, then they were gone, then they came back, they're going to be gone again. and i'm sure i will have a concert in afghanistan.

they sing

hello. well, the weather has been very mild in the last day or so. in london, temperatures on thursday reached 18.1 degrees celsius, so spring is definitely in the air. how about friday? i don't think it's going to be quite as warm and if anything, a lot of cloud and a good chance of catching some rain. now, currently, an area of low pressure is crossing us with its weather fronts and that spells a lot of rain—bearing cloud. and in fact, through the night, it will have been a wet picture across many parts of scotland. rain also around the lake district and elsewhere we've got showers crossing the uk. temperatures early in the morning on friday — double figures for london and norwich and many of us around 9—10 degrees. a bit colder there in scotland — 5 for aberdeen. the forecast, then, for friday,

and a lot of cloud first half of the day, very few glimmers of sunshine. showers possible through the morning and afternoon across england and wales, cracks of thunder likely, but out towards the west — and in some other areas as well — there'll be some bright spells. temperatures — well, from yorkshire southwards i think we're still talking about the mid—teens, but further north and west, closer to around 10 or 11. and then friday night the skies clear, and into saturday morning with lighter winds, it is going to be a chilly start. so crisp sunshine early on saturday with temperatures in parts of scotland around —3 degrees celsius. i don't think it's going to be frosty in the south. so saturday, lots of bright if not sunny weather across many northern and eastern areas. but this weather front is approaching — its southwesterlies pushing the rain bearing clouds so there will be some damp weather for the south—west, for wales, the irish sea and into northern ireland. temperatures though, around 10—13 degrees. and then for the rest of the weekend, while weather

fronts keep on crossing the uk, notice that the winds are blowing out of the southwest — that's a mild direction. so if anything, despite all the cloud and the early outbreaks of rain, i think on sunday with that even southerly, i think the temperatures are going to rise. we're talking around 15—16, maybe even 17 degrees celsius in one or two spots across the east and the southeast. let's have a look at the outlook. it is going to be a mixed bag, every weather icon you can possibly imagine. but those temperatures are going to remain on the mild side. mid—teens across the south — around, say, 8—13 in the north of the uk. that's it from me. bye— bye.

live from washington, this is bbc news. senior israeli politicians criticise us senate majority leader senator chuck schumer, after he called for new leadership in israel.

polls have opened in russia's presidential elections, where vladimir putin faces no real challengers. plus, breaking boundaries at the fashion bible — the bbc speaks to the first black female editor of british vogue. i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join me. us senate majority leader chuck schumer has called for new elections in israel, accusing israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu of prioritising his "political survival" above the country. mr schumer, a democrat and america's highest—ranking jewish elected official, said the us should use its leverage to persuade mr netanyahu to change course. while the us remains israel's closest ally and biggest provider of military aid, concerns have been mounting within the biden administration over israel's conduct in gaza as the humanitarian crisis there worsens. now, president biden�*s top ally on capitol hill is calling for israel to make "course corrections".