It has been a year since #Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban, 20 years after America began its War on Terror. The past two decades saw significant changes creeping into Afghan society after the first brutal regime of the Taliban. However, even after a year, the images of desperate Afghans trying to flee the country remain clear.
The fall of Kabul in August 2021 resulted in more Afghan #asylumseekers seeking protection in neighbouring countries and Europe. The majority of them are in Iran and Pakistan. Since the takeover of the #Taliban, 667,900 Afghans have been displaced internally, adding to the already 3.5 million internally displaced civilians at the end of 2020.
Afghans especially suffered a great deal since the war in #Ukraine, wherein in many host countries, housing for Ukrainians was given priority at the cost of the Afghan people.
The past year has been disastrous for Afghan #women. The young women and girls of the country, who were trying to make their mark in various fields in a conservative society like Afghanistan, have suffered the most since August 2021. The crumbling economy of Afghanistan is being further strained by the Taliban's imposed restrictions on the participation of women in the workforce. A UNDP report suggested that this move can cost the Afghan economy up to $ 1 billion or 5 % of the GDP. The Taliban ousted most female government employees, allowing only those in essential services such as nursing.
Adolescent girls have been barred from schools, making Afghanistan the only country on the planet which restricts a large part of its population from getting an #education. Female rights and development were already strained in the country. It was ranked 166 out of 167 countries on the UN's gender development index in 2019.
Afghanistan had about 4,00,000 civil servants, out of which a quarter were women. They have been banned from resuming work till sharia-related procedures are formulated. In September 2021, the Taliban unveiled a 53-member cabinet, which did not have any female representation. In the previous Afghan government, 13 women were ministers and deputy ministers.
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