An Afghan woman in Kabul's dashed hopes amid Taliban blitz

One young woman in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul described the anxiety, fears and dashed hopes her generation feels as embassies evacuate staff and the government all but crumbles

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Hunkering indoors and watching her country fall to the Taliban, one young woman in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul described on Sunday the anxiety, fears and dashed hopes her generation feels as embassies evacuate staff and the government all but crumbles. But the day wasn't supposed to be like this. In the morning, Aisha Khurram made her way to Kabul University, where she is just two months shy of graduation. Before she could reach her class, the 22-year-old was turned back and told to head home. Life in the capital of 6 million people rapidly deteriorated Sunday, just as it had across much of the country over the past several weeks amid a Taliban blitz that saw the group capture one provincial capital after another. Already, Kabul's parks were filling with internally displaced people — families who'd fled their homes as the Taliban seized control of their towns and targeted people. Khurram, 22, said female students who'd made it to Kabul University early Sunday were told good-bye by their professors, who said they were unsure if the girls would be allowed to return and unsure whether if classes resumed that boys and girls would be allowed to study together.