The Taliban seized Kabul 2 years ago. Those who escaped still struggle
Global News
Two years ago, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan when Kabul fell. Now, millions of people are displaced or remain in the country where they likely face poverty and famine.
In the streets of Kabul, dozens of women chanted alongside Roqia Saee as she led the group with a megaphone on March 26, 2023. They chanted, “Education is a red line,” while holding signs calling on the Taliban to once again allow girls to go to school.
After this protest, Saee was taken into custody by the Taliban for the second time and in the months since, she has fled to Pakistan with her two children to escape the Taliban, who killed her husband — a former Afghan air force pilot.
This is Afghanistan after two years of Taliban rule, where women’s rights have been systematically crushed. Girls are now banned from going to secondary school, with women prohibited from attending universities.
For these brave women, they protest under the threat of Taliban reprisal.
“Taliban fighters have threatened us, beaten us with sticks, with their guns,” Saee tells Global News through an interpreter.
“In the past two years, women have been removed from society.”
Since seizing power, the Taliban have deprived 2.5 million girls of an education, according to the United Nations.
Global News asked a Taliban spokesperson if girls will ever be allowed to return to school while they are in power. He refused to answer directly, saying domestic issues belong to Afghanistan.