On the third anniversary of their return to power, the Taliban held parades and issued proclamations, hailing in their governance of Afghanistan under an “Islamic Emirate”. But for Mahtab, it was a day of mourning—a day to reflect on all that had been lost. She remembered the last time she had walked to school, ventured outside without covering her face, or met her friends in a café. It felt like a lifetime ago. Since then, her life has become a series of closed doors, each shutting her from the world she once knew.
“I feel like I’m fading away; like I am becoming invisible,” Mahtab told KabulNow, her voice trembling. “The Taliban took away my dreams.”
Mahtab, now 16, was just beginning her ninth-grade year when the news came. The Taliban had announced that girls would not be allowed to continue their education beyond primary school. The news was devastating for her, who had always been at the top of her class. “It seemed too cruel, too final,” she said with a voice heavy with sorrow.
Women will languish at home and will become voiceless sufferers if the Taliban rule continues and the world watches in silence.
—Mahtab, 16, school student
Inspired by her aunt, Mahtab had always imagined herself as a doctor. But that future was stolen from her. Three years have passed since she last visited her school. Her school uniform, which she had worn with pride, now hung like a ghost in her closet, a symbol of a life that had been taken away.
With no path to education in her country, she said, those dreams felt like distant memories, obscured by the harsh realities of a life under Taliban rule. “Women will languish at home and will become voiceless sufferers if the Taliban rule continues and the world watches in silence.”
Her story is one of countless untold stories of women and girls in Afghanistan who are struggling under the weight of the Taliban’s oppressive regime.
August 15 marked three years of Taliban rule, which seized control of Afghanistan as the republic government collapsed in the summer of 2021 amid the withdrawal of US-led NATO troops from the country after nearly two decades of fighting.
The regime has since consolidated its grip on the country and imposed strict restrictions on women and girls, a policy UN experts and rights groups say amounts to a system of apartheid, designed to deliberately subjugate them based solely on their gender.
The consequences are dire. Over time, Afghanistan’s nearly 20 million girls and women have become increasingly isolated, trapped within their homes, and deprived of the right to study, work, or even walk freely—something they had embraced for the past two decades with foreign assistance.
The Taliban’s draconian gender laws are not only stifling the current generation of girls but also reminding their mothers of a painful past. Many of these women were children or teenagers during the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001 when strict Islamic codes erased them from public life. Things have only grown worse today.
The UN and rights groups say the Taliban have created a system of gender apartheid.
Since their return, the Taliban, based on a harsh interpretation of Sharia law, have issued over 100 edicts stripping women and girls of their most basic rights and freedoms, including barring them from secondary school and universities, curbing employment opportunities, restricting freedom of movement, preventing them from market places, gyms, parks, beauty salons, among other things.
Women are no longer allowed to participate in politics, attend protests, or engage in public discourse. This erasure is a form of social control that limits women’s voices and agency, including excluding them from national and international discussions about Afghanistan’s future.
No country has yet officially recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s government. However, the group has established diplomatic ties with several countries in the region, including Russia, China, Pakistan, India and various Central Asian states.
For Mahtab, the passage of time had done little to ease the pain of daily life under the Taliban. Every day, as the light filtered through her window, she was reminded of what she could no longer have. Her days, once filled with the rhythm of school and study, had become monotonous and confined. She spent most of her time at home, trapped within the walls that had become both her sanctuary and her prison. The streets of Kabul, once a place of exploration and discovery, were now dangerous and unwelcoming. Simple moments, once so ordinary, now felt like distant dreams, unreachable and fading fast.
“I often feel like I’m a prisoner in my own home,” Mahtab said, her eyes welling up with tears. “I miss going to school, meeting my friends in restaurants, and going out on my own. I miss being free.”
The Taliban’s restrictions on women’s movement have stripped away Mahtab’s autonomy. She cannot leave the house without a male companion nor walk to the nearby park where she used to spend hours reading under the shade of an old mulberry tree. The park is now off-limits to women and girls, a sanctuary turned into a symbol of exclusion. And women who travel alone face whipping as punishment.
I live in constant fear that one day, they would come for me. The stories of beatings, arrests, and disappearances of young women haunt me, filling my dreams with nightmares.
—Mahtab
The few times she ventured outside, she felt the eyes of the Taliban fighters on her, their gaze a constant reminder that she was no longer free. “I feel like I’m fading away,” she said quietly. “Every day, I lose a little more of who I was.”
The Taliban’s crackdown on women for not covering up in public based on a dress code the group imposed in May 2022 has compounded the fear in Mahtab. Since earlier this year, the regime has detained scores of women and girls in Kabul and other provinces for violating this law, some of them were held incommunicado and subjected to abuse and intimidation.
“I live in constant fear that one day, they would come for me,” she said. “The stories of beatings, arrests, and disappearances of young women haunt me, filling my dreams with nightmares.”
As education fades from reach, another terrifying consequence looms: the rise in forced marriages. With no education or employment prospects, some Afghan families, facing severe economic hardship, feel compelled to marry off their daughters at increasingly younger ages. For these girls, marriage often becomes another prison.
Maryam, a 16-year-old from western Herat province, recounted her harrowing experience. “When the Taliban came, my father said there was no point in me staying at home without school. He married me to a man twice my age. Now, my life is nothing but cooking, cleaning, and enduring his anger.”
The Taliban believe women must be silent, subservient, and unseen—with no rights to education and work. We can’t let them succeed in leaving our girls in the dark.
Laila, in her 50s, former school teacher
The Taliban’s draconian gender rules extend beyond education and marriage, deeply affecting the economic lives of women and girls. Women who were once active participants in the workforce have been forced to leave their jobs. Girls who aspired to careers in medicine, law, or business now find themselves confined to their homes.
For families that rely on the income of female members, this has been devastating. Many are now struggling to make ends meet, with poverty levels soaring. Girls, who were once a source of hope for their families’ futures, now face a grim reality. The Taliban’s latest ban on beauty salons was a major blow to over 60,000 jobs for women, putting further strain on an economy already in crisis.
International humanitarian organizations warn that approximately 23.7 million people in Afghanistan, which is over half of the population and includes more than 50% of women and girls, are facing one of the world’s largest and most complex humanitarian crises amid critical underfunding.
“Afghanistan is experiencing shock after shock — the ongoing economic crisis, the legacy of decades of conflict, the impact of climate change, and the gender crisis, have taken a devastating toll on the country,” eight humanitarian organizations, CARE International (CARE) and Save the Children said in a joint statement.
Moreover, the Taliban’s violent crackdown to suppress women’s rights demonstrations is seen as an alarming escalation and a violation of peaceful protest and free speech in Afghanistan.
“In the three years since the Taliban regained control in Afghanistan, the group has become notorious internationally for its egregious treatment of women,” the Purple Saturday Movement, a women’s rights group in Afghanistan, said last week. “The Taliban’s rule has been marked by rampant misogyny, violence against women, and systemic efforts to strip women of their rights and freedoms.”
The psychological toll of the Taliban’s oppressive policies cannot be overstated. The constant fear, anxiety, and stress faced by women and girls have led to a mental health crisis. Reports of depression, PTSD, and suicide have increased, particularly among young women who see no future under Taliban rule.
The health crisis is compounded by the broader collapse of Afghanistan’s healthcare system, which is struggling under the weight of international sanctions and funding shortages. With many female healthcare workers forced out of their jobs, access to healthcare for women has become increasingly difficult. This is particularly concerning in a country where maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world.
Reports of depression, PTSD, and suicide have increased, particularly among young women who see no future under Taliban rule.
The international community and human rights organizations have persistently pushed the Taliban to reverse policies and practices that are restricting women and girls. The regime in Kabul has defended its policies, saying they are in line with Afghan culture and Islamic laws.
Diplomatic efforts to engage with the Taliban on women’s rights have yielded little progress. The Taliban’s leadership remains intransigent, and there is no indication so far that they are willing to reverse their policies.
“Women and girls in Afghanistan feel abandoned by the global community,” Mahtab said. “Many fear that the world has moved on from our plight, leaving us to suffer in silence. The consequences of inactions will be felt for generations, as the country loses the potential of half its population.”
According to Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, women and girls are living “their worst nightmares” under the Taliban’s abusive rule, calling on governments to support efforts to hold the regime to account.
“The third anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover is a grim reminder of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis, but it should also be a call for action,” Abbasi said. “Governments engaging with the Taliban should consistently remind them that their abuses against women and girls and all Afghans violate Afghanistan’s obligations under international law. Donors should provide assistance aimed at reaching those most in need and crafting durable solutions to Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.”
With the Taliban dismantling the previous judiciary system, there is no longer a legal recourse for victims of abuse. Women and girls who suffer violence are often left without protection, and forced to endure in silence.
The Taliban’s rule has created an environment of impunity for perpetrators of violence against women. Women who seek justice are often met with indifference or hostility from Taliban authorities, leaving them with virtually no avenues for justice.
Despite the severe risks, many women and girls have found ways to defy the Taliban’s oppressive rules, refusing to surrender their dreams and dignity.
Mahtab’s mother is one such woman. A former teacher, Laila, in her 50s, began teaching in secret, gathering young girls in her home, where they would sit huddled together, eager to learn. The sessions are short, often interrupted by the fear of being discovered, but in those moments, they have found a world beyond the harsh reality outside. Laila knew the risks, yet she pressed on, knowing that education was the key to their future.
“The Taliban believe women must be silent, subservient, and unseen—with no rights to education and work,” said Laila, whose home school is supported by a nonprofit based in the US. “We can’t let them succeed in leaving our girls in the dark. We will continue to educate our girls”
Many girls are also attending online classes organized by community groups in the diaspora or pursuing scholarship opportunities to study abroad. Some women also work online or have set up underground training and artwork in a bid to resist the Taliban’s extreme measures.
Despite the suffocating restrictions, Mahtab’s spirit has not been completely extinguished. Her life has become a delicate balance between survival and resistance. She writes poetry in her journal, capturing the pain and beauty of her existence in words that are both fragile and strong. She has also begun teaching a group of her peers English. In these small acts, she has found a glimmer of hope, a thread of resilience that she refuses to let go of.
“This is my only hope for now until I hopefully secure a scholarship to get out of the country,” Mahtab said, her voice steady despite the uncertainty. “But I know that I won’t give up. I can’t. There’s still a fire inside me, and as long as it burns, I’ll keep fighting.”
