Every morning, for as long as she can remember, 60-year-old Yasmin has come to the gates of the historical Blue Mosque in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, carrying thousands of colourful bangles clumsily wrapped in a large sheet.
She spreads the sheet on the floor outside the walls of the 800-year-old mosque and displays the bangles by colour and origin. “We sell two types of choris [bangles], this one is from Lahore and the shiny one comes from India. We buy them wholesale and sell them for 40 Afghanis [$0.50] for a dozen,” says Yasmin, who only goes by one name. “This has been the business of our ancestral tribes for centuries, and which is why they call us chori foroush [bangle sellers].”
In a deeply patriarchal society such as Afghanistan, the women of this tribe stand out for being independent matriarchs of their family units while the men usually adopt the role of caretakers. But they face a particular set of challenges.
Despite being a familiar sight in the Afghan city, Yasmin and her fellow bangle sellers are not Afghans themselves. In fact, the chori foroush, also known as Jogis, are a previously nomadic tribe that settled in parts of Afghanistan a little over a century ago. They do not belong to any country, and as such are a stateless minority.
“Our ancestors emigrated from Bukhara Sharif in Uzbekistan centuries ago, but now we are proud Afghans. I am born and raised in this country, and yet I am treated like prisoner in my own country,” says 70-year-old Guljan, a Jogi woman who sells bangles and reads palms – another practice associated with the community.
While there is no accurate population data available on the Jogis, academic groups have estimated there are 20,000 to 30,000 members living across northern Afghanistan. Due to their central Asian origins and distinct culture that contrasts sharply with Afghanistan’s largely patriarchal society, the tribes have long suffered discrimination.
“The Jogis are an oppressed minority in Afghanistan and are discriminated against, not just from the government but also society which doesn’t treat them with respect,” said Hakim Hakimi, an Afghan sociologist who worked with the Jogis in the early 1970s.
“It is due to their particular culture and also because of their poor economic conditions [that] they engage in certain professions not considered respectable in Afghan society,” he explained, adding that there is an unsubstantiated belief that Jogi women work as sex workers.
Added to this, the nomadic nature of their tribes has made it harder to document their presence. “While consecutive governments failed to ensure that the Jogis are included in our national census, the Jogis themselves didn’t make an effort in pre-war Afghanistan to apply," Mr Hakimi said.
As a result, they have never been granted Afghan citizenship and are denied access to state services and economic opportunities, causing widespread poverty, which has increased during decades of war in Afghanistan.
While many Jogis claim to have fought alongside the Mujahideen during the Soviet invasion, they were disappointed to find that the new government, established after the fall of the Taliban, failed to include them in the constitution as a minority group.
The exclusion has increased discrimination and worsened their struggle for citizenship, leaving them caught in a bureaucratic dilemma.
“For decades, we have been fighting to get a tazkira [national ID card], so we can be recognised as Afghans. But to get a tazkira, we have to show that either our father or grandfather or uncles have had one. But since no one in our tribe was ever issued an ID, how can we get one,” Guljan says.
Officials at the Ministry of Border and Tribal Affairs said they did not have any tribe classified as Jogis registered with them or in the constitution so could not provide support. "We cannot comment on any unregistered tribe," Sayed Nazim Saeedi, deputy spokesperson at the ministry, told The National, adding that the Jogis were perhaps "self-made and pretending" to be a tribe that does not exist.
“It is possible they are a sub-tribe of a larger tribe, but we don’t have them registered with the ministry,” he said.
Irrespective of past failures, the current government needs to act urgently to protect the interests of the tribe, Mr Hakimi said. “We live in the 21st century and there is no excuse to deny them their Afghan identity. The government is obligated to provide them support including citizenship and basic rights."
Lack of citizenship creates innumerable problems for the community, who are unable to access education or own land and businesses. “Our kids can’t enrol in public school because we don’t have IDs. Some of them study at local madrassas [religious schools] which don’t ask for IDs but otherwise, many in our community are illiterate,” said Guljan.
According to a 2011 study, in Mazar-e-Sharif alone, 83 per cent of Jogi children are out of school.
The lack of national identity was felt particularly strongly by the community at the height of the Covid-19 crisis when their daily earnings plummeted following a nationwide lockdown.
“This is the only income we have but when everything shut overnight and we were not allowed to step out of the house to work, we could not feed our families,” Yasmin said.
Many in the tribe were infected by the virus but could not seek professional help, or afford medication. Desperate for survival, Yasmin admits she would sneak out despite the quarantine in the hopes of making a sale to support the family.
“Some people told us that the government was distributing money and naan [bread], but we couldn’t even claim those because you have to show the tazkira to avail those schemes and aid. We had to rely on the charity of the people,” Guljan said.
Without identity papers, the Jogis remain cut off from any aid or support projects launched to combat the increase in poverty during the Covid crisis and many are struggling to survive.
“We are treated as outsiders in a country where our ancestors were born and lived,” Guljan said.
Results
Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).
Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.
Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.
Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.
Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.
Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)
Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)
Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.
Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.
Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.
Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.
Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
INDIA%20SQUAD
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THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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AIDA%20RETURNS
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
