Social Media Local sources in Herat say Taliban vice and virtue forces prevented women from entering Zanda Banan Market in Herat city on Monday (24 August). Women who spoke to Zan News say they were not allowed to enter the shopping centre even to buy clothes and essential items for their families. Marila Pazhwak, a Herat resident who had gone to the market to buy clothes for her children, told Zan News that two vice and virtue officials and another Taliban member stopped her at the entrance. She says: “Today I went to Zanda Banan Market to buy clothes for my two children, but two vice and virtue officials and another man who was also a Taliban member and was wearing the uniform of another department told me that women were not allowed to enter the market.” Marila adds: “No matter how much I tried to persuade the Taliban to let me enter the market, they said, ‘You are a woman and you have no right to enter the market.’” Meanwhile, Safia and Mahnaz, two other women in Herat, have also complained about humiliating and mocking treatment by the Taliban. They say they were not allowed to enter Zanda Banan Market despite wearing burqas. They told Zan News: “Today we went together to buy clothes and shoes from Zanda Banan Market. It was afternoon when we arrived. The Taliban were standing at the entrance and told us that women were not allowed to enter the market.” According to the two women, when they explained that they had come to shop, one Taliban member responded mockingly. Mahnaz says: “We said we had come to shop, and one of the Taliban mockingly said, ‘Do you think other women come here for weddings?’” She also says one Taliban member told them that restrictions on women could become even stricter in the coming days. Mahnaz told Zan News: “They said that in a few days, you may no longer have the right to shop outside your home. What does a woman need to go shopping for? Go home, auntie, and stay there.” Safia also says the treatment was “deeply upsetting and painful” for her. She says: “I was very upset today when I saw that the Taliban would not even allow us to shop in the market. The Taliban have truly made life difficult, and we women feel as though we are living in a cage and a prison.” The report of women being prevented from entering the shopping centre comes as the Taliban have imposed widespread restrictions on the education, employment, movement and public participation of women and girls since returning to power. Markets and shopping centres provide many of the everyday necessities of families. Preventing women from entering them, even to buy items needed for themselves and their children, extends Taliban restrictions into yet another area of women’s daily lives in Herat.

AI-generated / Zan TV What Have Five Years of Taliban Rule Done to Women Who Worked for the Former Government? Night is not a time of rest for Koubra. When darkness falls over the house, one question does not leave her mind: If she cannot find work tomorrow, where will the family’s food come from? She once worked at the Kabul police headquarters and earned a monthly salary of 13,500 afghanis. It was not a large income, but in her words, “we could get by”. She covered part of the family’s expenses and at least knew that at the end of each month, there would be some money to keep the household running. Five years after the fall of the republic, that income no longer exists. Koubra now works in people’s homes. She washes clothes, cleans houses and does whatever work she can to earn money. But sometimes she cannot find any work at all, and her family’s table remains empty. Koubra, 41, told Zan News: “Even during the republic, I took a government job because of financial hardship. The 13,500 afghanis I earned was helpful and enough for us to get by.” She says that after the Taliban returned, she had no hope of returning to a government job. “When the Taliban came, they considered not only women but also men from the former system to be infidels and saw them as Americans. So there was no chance they would give me a job. In short, we are in a very difficult financial situation.” What Koubra first lost was a job, but over time, the consequences of unemployment have reached every part of her life. She speaks of nights when hunger did not allow members of her family to sleep. “Many times we have gone to sleep hungry at night until morning. We woke up a hundred times because of hunger. I could not sleep because I was so hungry, but what can we do?” Koubra does not pause to explain further. She simply repeats the final sentence: “But what can we do?” Working in people’s homes has now become part of her daily life, work that she sometimes does for very little money. “There have been days when I washed people’s clothes just for a piece of dry bread.” But for Koubra, poverty is not only about having no money. She says she is sometimes also humiliated while working in other people’s homes. “The people whose houses I clean make sarcastic remarks at me and mock me.” A woman who once had a fixed salary in a government office now depends on work that provides neither a stable income nor any certainty that she will find work the next day. Koubra’s story is repeated in Balkh. Sajida, a former employee of one of the government departments under the republic, lost her job after the Taliban returned and now works in a tailoring workshop. She says that when she worked for the government, life was simple, but she had a regular income. “There was a time when we were government employees, and things were good. We earned an income, and it covered the family’s expenses.” Now Sajida’s income depends on how many customers come into the workshop. “As you can see my life now, sometimes I sew and there are customers. Sometimes I simply spend the whole day here until evening and go home empty-handed at night.” She does not receive a fixed salary and works on a percentage basis. “I work on a percentage basis in this workshop. For every 100 afghanis, they give me 20 afghanis.” For Sajida, who considers herself the breadwinner of her family, not having a stable job means facing the same question every day: will she have any money to take home today? Criticising the Taliban’s policies towards women, she says: “The Taliban see women as slaves and as a means of sexual satisfaction. They think women should only stay at home.” She then raises a question that has no simple answer for many women who support their families: “What should a woman like me do if she is the breadwinner and has no money? Where should she find food? How should she feed her children?” This question does not belong only to Koubra and Sajida. Arezoo, 43, a resident of Ghazni, was also a government employee under the republic. She now speaks about the difficulty of covering daily living costs and her own medical expenses. For Arezoo, five years of Taliban rule have not simply meant a political change. She says the change has directly made people’s daily lives more difficult. “The Taliban have been in power for five years, but they have turned life into hell for people and pushed the country back by 50 years.” Without a stable income, expenses that were once manageable have become heavier for her, from everyday household costs to medical treatment. For Koubra, the past five years have included nights when she sometimes went to bed hungry. For Sajida, they have included days spent in the workshop without customers, ending with her returning home empty-handed. For Arezoo, they have brought worries about living costs and medical expenses. The accounts of these three women show that for women who contributed to their families’ expenses, losing a job did not only mean losing a salary. The consequences have reached the family table, healthcare, economic security and their daily lives. The question raised by Sajida remains at the end: if a woman is the breadwinner of her family but has neither permission nor an opportunity to work, where is she supposed to find the money to support her children?

Photograph: Bülent Kılıç/AFP/Getty The Taliban have banned all demonstrations across Afghanistan under their newly published “Police Law”, formally incorporating restrictions on freedom of assembly and civil protest into the group’s legal framework. The law, drafted by Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban leader, was published today, Saturday (22 August), by the group’s Ministry of Justice under the title “Police Law”. The law is organised into five chapters and 53 articles, with the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior designated as responsible for its implementation. Article 50 of the law states: “Any demonstration within the territory of Afghanistan is prohibited.” The Taliban provide no further explanation of the ban in this article. The formal ban on demonstrations comes after the Taliban repeatedly suppressed civil protests over the past five years. Women protesters, civil society activists and other citizens who have protested against the group’s restrictions and policies have faced arrest, threats and pressure in numerous cases. Since the Taliban returned to power, women have been among the main groups holding street protests and civil actions against bans on education, restrictions on work, compulsory dress rules and exclusion from public life. However, many of these protests have been stopped by Taliban forces. The “Police Law” is not limited to banning demonstrations. Other sections also set out conditions for the apprehension and detention of individuals, the use of weapons and the powers of Taliban security officials. Under the law, Taliban officers may in certain circumstances detain individuals on the basis of a complaint, testimony or suspicion. Article 41 also states that security officials may pressure suspects accused of serious crimes to repent through “harsh language” and even threats of death. The Taliban also state in the law that officers must not torture detainees with sticks, whips, cables or other methods. However, numerous reports of violent treatment, arbitrary detention and abuse of prisoners have been published over the past five years. The complete ban on demonstrations further restricts the space for civil protest, which was already under severe Taliban pressure. For Afghan women, who over the past five years have regarded protest as one of the few remaining means of expressing opposition to restrictions, the law may mean the formalisation of the ban on their demonstrations.

Image: Wakil KOHSAR / AFP Many books still remain in a corner of her room. Some of them may have last been opened when she thought the closure of universities was temporary and that she would soon return to her classroom. Zarghona looks towards the books and recalls memories of going to class, memories that are now nearly four years old. On 20 December 2022, the Taliban banned girls from studying at universities in Afghanistan. Students who had been working towards obtaining degrees, finding jobs and building their futures were suddenly prevented from attending university. Now, after the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, some of these girls tell Zan News that during this period they have not only lost their education, but also feel that their youth, employment opportunities and part of their hope for the future have been taken from them. Zarghona, a resident of Kabul, is one of them. She was a student at the Faculty of Economics at Kabul University. She says she had plans for her future and imagined that her life would take a different direction after graduation. But following the Taliban’s decree, her studies were left unfinished. Zarghona says that waiting to return to the classroom gradually turned into hopelessness. She says: “After years of waiting, I gradually lost hope, and now I am struggling with mental health problems. My youth has passed, and my university education remains unfinished.” She compares her life these days to that of a bird in a cage. “Day and night, like a bird in a cage, I am trapped in the cage and prison created by Taliban laws. I feel suffocated every moment.” Zarghona says she takes antidepressants to cope with her mental health condition, but feels that she no longer has the strength and endurance she once had. “I take antidepressants, but I have still lost my strength and ability to cope. Even these damned tablets cannot control this situation.” For her, the passage of time has not meant getting closer to a goal. On the contrary, the more time has passed, the further she has moved from the life she had imagined for herself. In Kunduz, Najia, a 26-year-old woman, has a similar story. She speaks about the years when war, insecurity and repeated Taliban attacks were part of life for people in the province. But according to her, after the change of government, another problem began, one that directly targeted her educational future and that of thousands of Afghan girls. Najia says: “May God darken the Taliban’s lives for ruining our future.” She also recalls the days of the republic: “Day and night, we had no peace from them during the republic because they were fighting and attacking our province every day.” But what happened after the Taliban returned was, for her, another form of deprivation. “Then, when the misogynistic Taliban came to power, they attacked our education and barred us from studying.” Najia had imagined a future in which she would become a psychologist, a profession she says she could have pursued through university education. Now, all that remains of that future is one short sentence: “Otherwise, I would be a psychologist by now.” In Herat, Rahila once studied medicine at the city’s public university. She is from Ghor province and says that choosing medicine was not merely a personal decision. She wanted to serve people after graduation who, she says, need female doctors. Rahila says: “I wanted to become a doctor. There are few female doctors in Afghanistan in general, and especially in our province.” But this path, like that of many other girls, was also stopped halfway. “But the Taliban took this dream from me and destroyed it.” Now, instead of working in a hospital treating patients, Rahila herself receives treatment and medication from doctors for her mental health problems. She says: “While I wanted to save others from illness and treat them, I have now become ill myself because of excessive worry and stress. I see a psychologist and take antidepressants.” In Kandahar, Sabrina also speaks of a future that is no longer as clear to her as it once was. She says she wanted to study, but being deprived of education has weakened her hope. “I wanted to study and continue my education. I had just started preparing for the university entrance exam, but the Taliban took the entrance exam and university away from us, and now there is no hope in life.” Sabrina speaks about pressures that, according to her, sometimes lead to thoughts of harming herself. She says: “Sometimes bad thoughts come into my mind and I want to harm myself and end my life, meaning to kill myself, because I am a girl and I do not even have the right to choose. This is the Taliban’s view of me as a girl and of other girls and women.” Four accounts from four parts of Afghanistan, Kabul, Kunduz, Ghor and Kandahar. Their experiences are different, but they all share one thing: universities they are no longer allowed to enter. For these girls, the ban on education does not simply mean being unable to read a few books or sit a few exams. They speak of a future they had worked towards for years, of the jobs they wanted to have and of the lives they imagined would begin after graduating from university. Five years have now passed since the Taliban returned to power, and nearly four years have passed since girls were banned from universities. During this period, girls who once called themselves students have spent part of their lives waiting for university gates to reopen. Zarghona still wants to finish her studies, Najia still thinks about becoming a psychologist, Rahila still dreams of becoming a doctor and Sabrina, despite all the hopelessness she describes, still remembers the days when she wanted to enter university. But since issuing the decree suspending women’s university education, the Taliban have not announced any specific date for the return of thousands of female students to universities.

Image: Wikipedia Aisha Wahab, an Afghan-American politician, has become the first woman of Afghan descent and the first Afghan American elected to the United States Congress after winning the special election in California’s 14th congressional district. Wahab defeated her Democratic rival, Melissa Hernandez, in the special election on Tuesday (18 August). With around 95 per cent of votes counted, she received more than 53 per cent of the vote. Wahab will complete the remainder of the term representing California’s 14th district in the US House of Representatives until January and will run again in November for a full two-year term. Aisha Wahab’s election to Congress is not her first historic achievement in US politics. In 2018, when she was elected to the Hayward City Council, she became the first Afghan-American woman elected to public office in the United States. In 2022, she was elected to the California State Senate, becoming the first Muslim and Afghan-American woman elected to that body. Wahab’s life has also been marked by significant challenges. She was born in New York to an Afghan refugee family. She lost both of her parents during childhood and spent some time in the foster care system. She was later adopted by an Afghan family in California. Before entering politics, she worked with community organisations, in the technology sector and with non-profit organisations. During her political career, Wahab has focused mainly on issues including housing, economic inequality, education, and support for women, children and low-income families. Before entering the California State Senate, she also worked with the Afghan Coalition and participated in programmes related to the Afghan-American community. The success of a woman of Afghan descent in reaching one of the most important political institutions in the United States comes at a time when the situation of women in Afghanistan is moving in a completely different direction. Five years after the Taliban returned to power, girls remain barred from secondary and university education, while women face widespread restrictions on work, freedom of movement and participation in public life. In Afghanistan, women have been excluded from many of the positions they held before 2021 in politics, government institutions and society. Outside Afghanistan, however, Afghan women and women of Afghan descent continue to reach important positions in academic, media, social and political fields. Aisha Wahab’s election to the US Congress is therefore not only the story of one politician’s success, but also an example of what women can achieve when they have access to education, political opportunities and equal participation, opportunities that millions of women and girls in Afghanistan are denied today.

Sent to ZAN TV A number of Afghan citizens living in Toronto, Canada, held a protest gathering on the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power, calling for an end to restrictions on women and girls, a halt to the normalisation of the Taliban, and guarantees for the fundamental rights of the Afghan people. They called on the international community and human rights organisations to take serious action to recognise and criminalise “gender apartheid” and hold those responsible accountable. A statement issued at the gathering said: “The Taliban must not gain legitimacy through normalisation.” They stressed that any international engagement with the Taliban should be conditional on respect for the fundamental rights of the Afghan people, particularly the rights of women and girls, freedom of expression and civil liberties. They also called for the immediate reopening of schools and universities to girls, women’s right to work and participate in society, and the restoration of the civil and political rights of Afghan citizens. The statement called on international institutions to independently investigate reports of targeted killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances and other human rights violations against former military and security personnel, and to hold those responsible accountable. Afghan citizens in Toronto also stressed the importance of freedom of expression and the work of independent media, and called for the release of political, civil society and media prisoners, as well as an end to censorship and the suppression of freedom of expression. Sent to ZAN TV They also called for independent investigations into allegations of land seizure, forced displacement and demographic changes, stressing that property rights and the right of citizens to live in safety must be guaranteed without discrimination. They urged host countries to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and not to return women protesters, journalists, civil society activists and other people at risk to Afghanistan. Afghan citizens living in Toronto stressed that “15 August is not the end of the aspirations of the Afghan people” and called for an Afghanistan where women and men are equal, girls and boys have the right to education, and no citizen is persecuted because of ethnicity, language, gender or political views. This comes as five years have passed since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, a period marked by a humanitarian crisis, widespread human rights violations, particularly against women and girls, and extensive restrictions on the social and civic lives of citizens.

Sent to ZAN TV A number of Afghan organisations, protest movements and citizens gathered in Paris, France, on Sunday (16 August) to mark five years since the fall of the previous government and the Taliban’s return to power. They called for an end to the normalisation of the Taliban, practical support for women and girls, and recognition of the Afghan people’s right to determine their own political future. Protesters said the Taliban’s policies of excluding women and girls from educational, social, economic and political life should be recognised as “gender apartheid” and that the international community should take practical action in response. A resolution issued at the protest said that any political or diplomatic normalisation or legitimisation of the Taliban under current conditions is contrary to the rights and demands of the Afghan people. Protesters called on the United Nations, the European Union and European governments to ensure that engagement with the Taliban does not lead to legitimising the group’s rule. They also stressed the need to reopen schools and universities to girls and women and called for support for women protesters, journalists, students, academics, writers, civil society activists and human rights defenders. The resolution called on the International Criminal Court and other competent judicial bodies to prosecute those responsible for acts including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, ethnic and religious persecution, and forced displacement. It stressed that no Taliban official or member should be immune from accountability because of their political or military position. The protesters also called on governments to uphold the principle of non-refoulement for Afghan refugees and not to deport individuals who would face the risk of torture, persecution or serious harm if returned. The resolution concluded that the Taliban “do not represent the people of Afghanistan” and that the rule of an armed group cannot be regarded as equivalent to the political legitimacy of the Afghan people. Protesters called on the international community to support a political process leading to the establishment of a “legitimate, inclusive system arising from the will of the Afghan people”.

AI-generated / Zan TV Author: Mursal qaisari For many people, 15 August may simply be an ordinary date, a date on the calendar, a date in political books, a date associated with the fall of Kabul and the Taliban’s return. But for me, 15 August is not an ordinary date. It is a life, a life that began to fall apart from that very day. For me, writing is the only way I can express my pain. But for days, I have been thinking about myself and about the past five years. If I wanted to write about the pain of these five years, where would I begin? With the day we were displaced from city to city? The day I lost my school? The day I realised I could no longer take the university entrance exam? The years I stayed at home? The nights I silently cried for my dreams? Or today, when I live in another country and still have not been able to detach myself from my homeland? I do not know where to begin. I have lost the words. It is as though even words are ashamed before these five years of pain and suffering endured by Afghan girls. I remember those dark days well, from the day we left Jawzjan to the day I heard that Kabul had fallen. When Kabul fell, nothing remained as it had been before. We lived in Kabul for a while. Then we returned to Jawzjan, because of my school, my brother, my father’s job and the life we still hoped we might somehow continue. But life was no longer the same. We could no longer laugh loudly, walk freely or even breathe freely. Schools, universities and all educational institutions were closed to the girls of my country one after another. For girls who had spent their entire lives dreaming of studying, those closures meant watching part of our future collapse. Sometimes I think I was fortunate. I was able to finish school. In 2022, I graduated as part of the last group of female students to graduate under Taliban rule. Eventually, after many efforts, I came to Pakistan in 2024. Here, I began university in the field I wanted to study. The journey was not easy. I went through a difficult and complicated path to continue my education, and I was happy because of that. But even this happiness carries another pain with it, guilt. Because I was able to continue, while many other girls could not. Thousands of talented Afghan girls remain trapped behind closed doors. Girls whose books are still lying in the corner of their rooms. Girls who have still not thrown away their school uniforms. Girls who dreamed of becoming doctors. Girls who wanted to become journalists. And perhaps today, the only thing they can do is look at the books they are no longer allowed to open. Today, Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls above the sixth grade are deprived of education because of their gender. For Afghan women and girls, these five years have been filled with pain, suffering, darkness and endless tears. Women and girls have not only faced the closure of school doors. They have gradually been pushed out of different areas of public life. Their rights to work, freedom of movement, social participation and many everyday freedoms have been restricted. And I ask myself: Has the world grown used to this? Are five years not enough? How many more years must an Afghan girl stand behind the closed gates of a school before the world understands that this is not only deprivation of education? It is deprivation of a future. It is the pain of a generation. I carry the past five years with me. Wherever I go, Afghanistan is with me. Five years have passed. Five years since Afghanistan fell and the lives of millions of people changed. For me, these five years are not simply five calendar years. They include a university entrance exam I never took, a university I lost, midnight tears, migration, separation from family, fear of returning and longing for my homeland. But there is one thing they have still not been able to take from us: our voice. I write because I do not want us to forget. I write for the girl who still believes in her dreams. For the girl who has lowered her voice out of fear. For the girls who resisted. For the mother who does not know what her daughter’s future will be. And for myself, for Mursal, who amid the fall of cities, migration, the closure of universities and nights filled with tears, still has hope, still studies and still writes. Afghan girls have endured five years filled with pain, but they have not yet been defeated. I will continue to write, and I will not remain silent until our stolen future is returned to us.

Sent to ZAN TV The Women’s Movement Network has condemned the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and criticised the silence and inaction of the international community, saying that women, journalists, civil society activists and other people at risk are paying the price for political tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. The network called on the Pakistani government to immediately halt the forced deportation of individuals who would face the risk of arrest, torture, enforced disappearance or death if returned to Afghanistan. Members of the network held a protest in Pakistan and issued a statement saying that the mass deportation of refugees without assessing their individual circumstances is “inhumane” and contrary to the principle of non-refoulement. The statement said that women protesters, human rights activists, journalists, members of civil society, artists, judges, former security personnel and individuals pursued by the Taliban because of their activities would face the risk of arrest, torture, enforced disappearance and even death if returned. The Women’s Movement Network said political tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban should not result in Afghan refugees being used as tools of political pressure. The network also called on the United Nations, the UN Refugee Agency, the Human Rights Council and governments that support human rights to provide safe and legal pathways for the transfer of people at risk. The statement said: “While Afghan women are deprived of their most basic human rights under the shadow of a gender apartheid system, many international actors continue to engage with and normalise relations with the Taliban.” The Women’s Movement Network also criticised the silence of some former officials of the republic, politicians and influential Afghan figures over the deportation of refugees and the repression of women, saying they cannot absolve themselves of moral responsibility for the current situation of the Afghan people. The network called on the Pakistani government to provide protection exemptions for individuals facing serious risks and urged the international community to take practical action to protect refugees, end what it calls the Taliban’s “gender apartheid” and hold the group accountable. The statement said: “The world must not abandon Afghan women once again. Every day of delay in taking action could mean more lives lost.” The appeal comes as the arrest and deportation of Afghan citizens from Pakistan continues. According to the latest joint report by the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organization for Migration, 1,406 Afghan citizens were arrested in Pakistan between 2 and 8 August alone. During the same period, 16,460 Afghans returned to Afghanistan, including 1,410 who were deported. The large-scale return of Afghans is taking place as Afghanistan faces serious humanitarian and economic crises, while women and girls remain subject to widespread Taliban restrictions on education, work and participation in public life.

Symbolic image: AI-generated / Zan TV From 15 August 2021 until today, five years have passed since the Taliban halted the normal lives of ethnic and religious minorities, women and men through their decrees. Five years ago, on 15 August 2021, when the Taliban entered Kabul and took control of Afghanistan’s capital, a new chapter began in the country’s history, a chapter that, for millions of Afghan women and girls, brought the closure of educational institutions, reduced employment opportunities, greater control over their personal lives and a decline in their participation in society. The Taliban’s entry into Kabul was not only the end of a political system. For many Afghan women, it marked the beginning of a period in which many of the rights and freedoms they had gained over the years were restricted one after another. Women who had previously been present in universities, government offices, media organisations, businesses and social institutions gradually faced decrees that pushed them out of large parts of public life. Five years after that day, Afghan women’s accounts of life under Taliban rule portray a society in which many women say not only their opportunities, but also their hopes for the future, have been damaged. This Zan News report is based on accounts and direct interviews with a number of women and citizens. Symbolic image A Generation Trapped Behind the Doors of Education One of the Taliban’s first and most widespread restrictions was depriving girls of education. Thousands of schoolgirls and university students who had plans for their futures were suddenly prevented from continuing their education. Mursal Maryama, an engineering student at Kabul University, is one of these girls. She was only one semester away from completing her studies when the Taliban left her waiting for five years, and her future, like that of millions of other girls, remains uncertain. Mursal told Zan News: “When the Taliban took political power in Afghanistan, it marked a dark day for women and girls. They confined us to our homes and took away our rights. They closed university doors several times under different pretexts until this policy was permanently enforced and we were confined to our homes.” She continued: “I dreamed of becoming an engineer, but I had only my final semester left to complete my fourth year. The Taliban took this chance away from me forever.” For Mursal, university was not merely a place of education. It represented a future she had worked for years to achieve. Depriving women of education is not merely an educational decision, but one whose consequences will remain with Afghanistan’s economy, society and future generations. Symbolic image: AI-generated / Zan TV Life Under the Taliban’s Compulsory and Imposed Dress Code Alongside restrictions on education, the Taliban’s policies on women’s clothing have also transformed their presence in public spaces. Some women say they have faced harsh treatment because of the way they dress, the absence of a mahram, or the way they appear in society. Rabia, a woman who still sees herself as a prisoner after being released from prison. She is one of the women interviewed in Herat and says she was arrested while going to the market. Rabia said: “When I left home alone to shop at Herat’s Lailami market, the vice and virtue authorities arrested me and then took me to prison. I spent 16 days in prison. When my father provided a guarantee and signed an undertaking, the Taliban released me.” Rabia says her release from prison did not end the pressure: “In reality, my imprisonment began when the Taliban released me from prison. People in society looked at me negatively. I felt that I had lost my dignity and peace of mind.” Karima, Arrested Because of the Clothes She Was Wearing Karima also recounts that she was arrested while shopping for a sewing machine. She said: “Because I was wearing a manteau and went looking for a sewing machine, the Taliban arrested me. They said I had spoken to a non-mahram man. When the case became serious, they made accusations against me that were not true. The Taliban said they had arrested me while committing adultery. I remained in prison again, and every day the Taliban themselves raped me. At night, they would take women and girls out of prison and rape them.” In a System Built on Fear, Women Are Condemned Before They Can Defend Themselves Restrictions on women have not been limited to their social participation. Some women say these restrictions have also made it difficult for them to access health services, even in emergencies. Sabriya, one of the women interviewed in Herat, recounts how she faced an obstacle while trying to save her child during a critical moment. She told Zan News: “My child was dying in my arms. After passing through heavy traffic, I reached Herat Regional Hospital by rickshaw. My child was struggling to breathe. I could see my child dying, but the Taliban did not allow me to take the child into the hospital.” Sabriya added: “In the end, I borrowed a burqa from another woman so I could take my child into the hospital. My child was taking their final breaths. May God bless that woman who helped me. I was able to save my child.” She said: “The Taliban watched my child dying, but because I was wearing a manteau, they would not allow me to enter.” This account raises serious questions about the impact of restrictions on women’s clothing on their access to essential services, particularly during medical emergencies. Excluding Women from the Economy and Forcing Them into Sex Work After restrictions on education, excluding women from many areas of employment was another major change in Afghanistan. Thousands of women lost their jobs, including women who supported their families financially and had economic independence. Najiba, a former employee of a government office in Balkh, said: “I worked in a government office in Balkh. When the Taliban removed us from our jobs, I was forced to work in people’s homes, but this work was not available every day. To feed my six children, I had to beg on the streets. The Taliban arrested women beggars and children. After I was released, I had no other option and was forced to do something no human being wants to do…” She continued in a tearful voice: “I was forced into sex work, with anyone and anywhere. Even Taliban employees have found out about my situation and come to the door of my old house at night. I do this in exchange for 100 to 500 afghanis.” Symbolic image: AI-generated / Zan TV Accounts of Fear, Vulnerability and Concerns About Women’s Safety Alongside official restrictions that have pushed women away from education, work and free participation in society, some Afghan women describe experiences that they believe reflect growing feelings of insecurity and vulnerability among women. Shafiqa, one of the women interviewed in Herat, describes the situation of widowed and unsupported women in accounts that reflect her concerns about the lack of protection and autonomy for women. She told Zan News: “The Taliban have gathered more than 130 widowed and unsupported women and girls in Herat and are keeping them in a camp along the 64-Metre Road. This is not to help us. We feel that control over our lives has been taken away from us. The Taliban exploit us.” Shafiqa claimed: “When Taliban members come from other provinces to work in Herat, they visit these places and pressure women without allowing them to choose for themselves. They either marry them themselves or force them into vehicles and take them away. I have been pressured more than ten times so far, meaning I have had ten husbands so far who were members of the Taliban.” She said: “In the Taliban’s view, a woman is a tool, while a woman should be a human being with the right to choose and with dignity. But many women feel that others now make decisions about their lives.” Religious Minorities Under the Taliban’s Decrees Afghanistan is a society with ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, but since the Taliban’s return, some followers of religious minorities have expressed concern about restrictions on their religious and cultural activities. Ali Asghar, a Shia religious scholar, says restrictions on Shia religious activities have increased. He told Zan News: “The Taliban do not allow our religious ceremonies to be held properly. They pulled down the flags used for Ashura ceremonies and trampled on them, banned the teaching of Shia religious books in mosques and educational centres, and even removed books from libraries and bookshops.” Ali Asghar added: “The Taliban do not only have a problem with our religion, but with every religious minority that thinks differently. Religious freedom has meaning when all citizens can maintain their beliefs without fear.” Critics of Taliban policies say restrictions on religious freedoms, alongside widespread restrictions against women, have further narrowed Afghanistan’s civic space. Five Years After 15 August: Afghanistan and an Uncertain Future For many Afghans, 15 August 2021 is not merely a political date. It is a point that changed the course of millions of lives. For Mursal, the date is a reminder of a dream left unfinished, the dream of becoming an engineer. For Rabia and Karima, it is a reminder of days that, according to them, were marked by fear of arrest and social judgement. For Najiba, it is a reminder of the day she lost her economic independence, faced serious difficulties in supporting her children and was forced into sex work. For Sabriya, it is a reminder of a moment when, she says, saving her child’s life was obstructed because of restrictions related to clothing. And for Ali Asghar, it represents concern about the future of religious freedoms in Afghanistan. Five years after the Taliban’s return, the issue is not merely a change of government, but a question about the future of a society in which half the population, women, say they have been deprived of many social opportunities and rights. Afghanistan today faces a major question: Can a society in which women are deprived of education, work and equal participation move towards stability and development?