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In May 2021, the United States abruptly withdrew US “peacekeeping forces” from Afghanistan under the orders of US President Joe Biden as part of a signed agreement between the US and Taliban forces. As the US withdrew, the Taliban began a military resurgence to take over military and government outposts that had been secured by the US and Afghan forces over the last 20 years, leading to chaos, violence, and the eventual fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021. Thousands tried to flee the Taliban’s oppressive reign, causing an infamous, massive pileup at the Kabul airport. Of those, about 123,000 were safely evacuated.
Since then, the Taliban have implemented a number of regressive laws and policies. One of the most damaging of these is that they have revoked most of the rights and freedoms that women enjoyed under the previous Afghan ruling government. Women have been effectively forced back into the domestic sphere as they have been ousted from Afghanistan’s political system, universities, secondary schools, and the private sector. They are also now forced to adhere to a strict dress code and can’t travel more than 75 km without a man. According to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), this has caused a mental health crisis in Afghanistan as women report feeling “invisible, isolated, suffocated, living in prison-like conditions.”
Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have recognized the Taliban rule as legitimate. Its Central Asian neighbors to the north have chosen a more careful and practical diplomatic approach. The governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan have kept their official political and economic engagement with the Taliban in an attempt to wield some effect on the situation there. In return, the Taliban have promised not to allow other terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP), to launch attacks on Central Asia. That promise has been kept only to a certain degree, as the ISKP has launched several attacks on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in border areas.
With the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Russia has lessened its presence in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Since Russia has been the main security guarantor for the region, its partial withdrawal has allowed the Taliban to take a more aggressive approach in the region, exposing Central Asia to possible diversions from the south. With the rapidly deteriorating socio-economic and security situation on the ground, prospects of any development seem bleak.
Afghanistan's Great Dispersal
The effects of this crisis will spread farther than Afghanistan and are already having global consequences. In our special coverage, we explore how the cataclysm in Afghanistan is affecting communities worldwide.
Besides the ISKP and other smaller terrorist organizations active in Afghanistan, the National Resistance Front (NRF) led by Ahmad Massoud is the only domestic resistance group fighting against the Taliban to establish a new and inclusive government. The group is based in the northern province of Panjshir, which has been a historical stronghold of the anti-Taliban forces. Ahmad Massoud’s late father Ahmad Shah Massoud, widely known as the Lion of Panjshir, was the leader of the Northern Alliance, which fought against the Taliban in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Afghanistan’s political, academic, diplomatic, and cultural figures with anti-Taliban stances have rallied around the NRF and called to resist them. These groups have met in Vienna twice to remind the world of the alternative political groups to the Taliban.
On the two-year anniversary of this crisis, Global Voices is sharing a special coverage to shed light on the plight of people in Afghanistan — particularly the women, LGBTQ+ people, and minorities who have had their rights stripped away.
Find our stories below.
Stories about The fall of Kabul: Two years later
The Taliban's devastating effect on journalists and press freedom in Afghanistan grows worse
Over half of 600 media outlets have ceased operations. A significant number of journalists and media personnel, particularly women, have either lost their jobs or been coerced into leaving the country.
Musicians in Afghanistan live in fear and despair amid the Taliban ban on music
"Taliban have transformed Afghanistan into a place deprived of music and art. They transformed it into a quiet, dumb country."
Afghanistan’s women in agriculture face limitations and challenges
Empowering women farmers is essential for the economic development and food security of Afghanistan.
Anti-Taliban groups come together and call to resist with all means
As the international community is starting to discuss how to engage with the Taliban, the importance of the Vienna conference will continue to grow.
Undertones in Afghanistan: ‘Taliban 2.0,’ Women, Resistance
Researchers share some of the strongest narratives that have circulated in Afghanistan this year
As peace and prosperity unravel, Central Asia braces for a surge of forced labor and sexual slavery
Economic crises, cuts in public spending and subsequent unemployment are commonly regarded as the factors that aggravate the risks for vulnerable groups of population to fall prey to human trafficking
Central Asia’s fears of rising militancy in Afghanistan as Moscow invades Ukraine
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the three Central Asian states that border Afghanistan intended to defend their borders through security reinforcement and diplomacy, primarily relying on Russian initiatives.
Undertones: Taliban narratives about Afghan women
Dozens of Afghan women have publicly protested the Taliban’s gradual and systematic erasure of women from the public sphere since their return to power in August 2021.
Police violently break up Afghan refugee protest in Indonesia
Some refugees in Indonesia have been in limbo for more than 10 years. Protesters gathered outside the UNHCR building in Medan to call for resettlement and demand better living conditions.
Afghan women: Finally a book that speaks from inside its society
A female Afghan writer has just released "The Mountains Have Witnessed: The Story of a Girl Who Dared for More", a book that tells the story of Afghan women.
Afghan refugees might complicate Ugandan politics
While accepting the moral imperative of accepting refugees, there are concerns about Uganda’s human rights track record and the US government’s continued dealings with the Museveni administration.
Disinformation campaign intensifies as Afghan refugees arrive in North Macedonia
The first group of 149 Afghan citizens arrived in Skopje on August 30. While the government and civil society welcome the refugees, right-wing nationalists exploit their plight to spread disinformation and hate.
The plight of Afghan women under the new Taliban regime
With the Taliban taking control of Kabul, women in Afghanistan are faced with the bleak prospect of a return to a society that denies their rights.
What’s wrong with the political analogy comparing Taiwan to Afghanistan?
Following the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Chinese commentators comparing Taiwan with Kabul have flooded social media questioning the credibility of the United States' commitment to Taiwan.
