The Latest Breaking News from Maryam

In a bitterly cold bedroom at the start of winter in Kabul, 22-year Maryam sat with her baby son bundled up in a red jumper as he coughed days after being discharged for the third time from a hospital ward for suspected pneumonia.

The Taliban’s decision to suspend women from accessing higher education has extinguished a rare source of hope for many.

Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain talks about diversity in beauty and finding confidence from within

Special investigation: David Cohen talks to increasingly desperate parents queueing with empty shopping bags outside a school near Battersea Power Station

Feed the Future: Demand for help putting food on the table continues to grow – hence The Independent’s call for free school meals to urgently be extended to all those in need

Best of Friends, the latest novel from Women’s Prize-winner Kamila Shamsie, explores complexities of power and ethics within an enduring female friendship. Focused on two central characters, Zahra and Maryam, the novel considers questions of integrity, loyalty, and platonic love.

British-Iranian correspondent Ramita Navai was in Bayeux, Normandy on Thursday to present the première of her documentary "Afghanistan: No Country for Women", a harrowing look at life under the Taliban. Often using a hidden camera, she witnessed the daily struggle women face to stay alive.

This week’s bookcase includes reviews of Best Of Friends by Kamila Shamsie and A Sliver Of Darkness by C. J. Tudor.

A pivotal moment from her own past forms the engine for Kamila Shamsie’s first novel since winning the Women’s Prize in 2017. She talks to Claire Allfree about ‘Best of Friends’, the dangers faced by young women, and her fears about applying for British citizenship