Five years after the last plane: The Taliban's Afghanistan left behind

Five years after the US withdrawal, a comprehensive article examines the state of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Alongside regime stability, women have been left behind: they are banned from studying in high schools and universities, working in most public sector jobs, and moving freely. The article depicts daily life through a neighborhood bakery in Kabul, an underground journalist, and girls forced into early marriage after finishing sixth grade.

Five years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, a comprehensive article examines the state of the country under Taliban rule. Alongside regime stability and the return of security to some roads, women have been left behind. The Taliban has issued over a hundred edicts restricting women and girls: a ban on studying in high schools and universities, a ban on working in most public service jobs, a ban on visiting parks and gyms, and a requirement to travel with a male relative. According to UNESCO, 2.4 million girls are not allowed to attend secondary education. The article depicts daily life through a neighborhood bakery in Kabul where two sisters work, an underground journalist fearing Taliban raids, and girls like 13-year-old Nilofar from Bamyan who is forced to marry an older relative after finishing sixth grade. According to UNICEF, by 2030 Afghanistan could lose about 20,000 female teachers and 5,400 female health workers.