In 1996, a religious militant group, widely regarded as terrorists, took power and declared Afghanistan to be an Islamic Emirate, imposing strict laws and brutal punishments around the nation. In 2001, the U.S. army invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban’s government because they had been harboring the terrorist group Al Qaeda, which had just attacked the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. But now, in 2021, the U.S. finally decided to pull troops from Afghanistan and end America’s longest war. This resulted in the toppling of the Western-backed government and the beginning of the Taliban’s second reign.
In the late 90’s, the Taliban ruled with an iron fist; People suspected of adultery were stoned, thieves had their hands chopped off, and public mass executions were frequent. Women were forced to wear burqas, were confined to their homes, and were only allowed to leave the house when accompanied by a male family member. Since the Taliban’s first defeat, women have gained many rights, such as to drive cars, attend school, participate in the Olympics and robotics competitions, and the right to include their name on their children’s birth certificates and ID’s. Additionally, there are now female ministers, governors, judges, police, and soldiers in Afghanistan. All of these rights may be taken away very soon.
In March 2020, President Donald Trump made a deal with the Taliban that the U.S. would pull all of its military forces by August 2021, seek the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 American prisoners, and eventually remove sanctions from the Taliban such as travel bans, asset freezes, and an arms embargo. Many people were upset at this agreement. The U.S. could have pulled its forces and done nothing else, but Trump promised to release prisoners and lift sanctions, things many believe were unnecessary.
Recently, President Joe Biden announced that the American troops would evacuate Afghanistan by the end of August. Since his announcement, the Taliban has been quickly gaining territory in only a matter of days. On August 15, the Taliban successfully captured Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul and announced that they will be holding meetings to discuss ways to create an “open, inclusive Islamic government.”
Afghans who had fled to Kabul to escape the Taliban are now rushing to get out of the country. On the days of Kabul’s capture, citizens stormed the only airport and tried desperately to board the planes. Some even clung to the sides of full evacuation planes, plunging to their deaths when they took off. Taliban soldiers were also at the airport. One video shows them supervising foreigners boarding planes, but shots were eventually fired to drive out the large crowds. While some say it seemed as though the soldiers were trying to control the crowd instead of preventing them from leaving, others disagree.
The Taliban vowed to respect women’s rights within Islamic law, encouraged women to return to work and school, and said there will be no revenge attacks on people who worked for the previous government, and even included some previous officials in their new government. Despite their promises, there have been conflicting instances concerning said promises. Last month, Taliban soldiers went door-to-door searching for government employees, killed at least 27 civilians, wounded 10 others, and looted homes.
Though the Taliban is trying to present itself as more humane than before, individual commanders of Taliban territories have not respected these claims, showing that not everyone in the Taliban agrees with them or that the vows were never sincere.