Five years have passed under the rule of the Taliban, who regained power on August 15, 2021, after the withdrawal of the US army in AFGHANISTAN.
While the Taliban, which governs the country under the name "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan", claims that security and stability have been achieved in five years, the difficulties in the daily life of Afghans have increased even more. The rights of women and girls were taken away with successive bans, and increasing poverty under Taliban rule, isolated from the international community, left millions in need of aid.
PROMISES WERE NOT KEPT
The Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, 2021 and took over power after 20 years, raising concerns that the harsh rule between 1996 and 2001 would be re-established.
The Taliban, led by Hibetullah Akhundzade, tried to get support from world countries in the first days by promising a "moderate and different from the past" administration. But the past five years have been different. Girls over the age of 12 were banned from going to school, and even the construction of windows in rooms occupied mostly by women began to be restricted.
Men were required to grow a fist-length beard, the use of ties, shaving beards in barbershops, and drawing pictures of people and animals were prohibited.
AFGHANS NEED HELP
In addition to the restrictions imposed by the Taliban, the humanitarian crisis in the country has also worsened. According to the United Nations (UN), while approximately 45 percent of the country's population needed humanitarian aid this year alone, the number of children affected by acute malnutrition reached 3.7 million.
UNESCO announced that 2.4 million girls are deprived of secondary education and 53 percent of primary school children cannot go to school.
Russia is the only country in the world that officially recognizes the Taliban administration.
TALIBAN IS SATISFIED WITH HIS REPORT CARD
The Taliban, on the other hand, claims that it has achieved many successes in five years.
Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi said in his statement to the Associated Press, "Of course there are problems and difficulties, but we can also talk about many successes," and argued that security was ensured, the currency was stabilized, infrastructure was developed and industrial zones that provide employment were established.
Speaking to Hürriyet, Amnesty International Turkey Director Ruhat Sena Akşener stated that the Taliban has established an oppressive order that "replaces obedience instead of rights and freedoms, and silence replaces freedom of expression and press."
Noting that Afghanistan has turned into an open-air prison for women, Akşener said, "The Taliban must abolish all laws and practices that violate the rights of women and girls. They must end arbitrary and unfair judicial decisions in line with international human rights obligations and reestablish the legal system in accordance with these obligations."
'I FEEL GUILTY'
Afghan women also expressed their concerns about their future in their evaluations of the last five years.
An Afghan woman who came to Turkey for university education in 2018 and wished to remain anonymous told Hürriyet, "I was able to establish my life here, but I see that my family, who remains in Afghanistan, cannot do even the simplest things anymore. Sometimes I feel guilty just for that."
Stating that the experiences of women in the country have become "normalized" in the eyes of the world, the Afghan woman said, "Nobody has to get used to this. I get angry when I think about what the Taliban is doing."
79 of the more than 470 regulations the Taliban has issued since 2021 directly targeted women and girls.
TALIBAN'S 'PROHIBITED' CALENDAR FOR WOMEN
- December 2021: It became mandatory for women to have a male family member with them on long-distance trips.
- May 2022: Women are required to cover themselves from head to toe in public spaces, leaving only their eyes exposed.
- July 2023: It was decided to close the beauty salons run and worked by women.
- December 2024: Women were prevented from receiving midwifery and nursing education.
- September 2025: Female employees are prevented from entering UN campuses.
- May 2026: According to a new law, an underage girl's silence was interpreted as consent to marriage.
