Three years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan

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The withdrawal of US troops in 2021 prompted the collapse of the Afghan military, an interim government and then a power grab by the hardline Islamist regime. Since then there have been increasingly harsh restrictions on everything from freedom of movement to clothing. Women and girls are now longer able to attend school after the age of 12 or university and must not speak in public. Host Luke Jones brings together three women in Kabul and in the nearby Ghazni province to hear about their lives, ambitions and how the latest laws make them feel. “I just think that I’m in a cage,” said Kawsar (not her real name). “I can’t talk, I can’t walk. I can’t see. I’m just in a dark place, full of violence. I can’t breathe and I can’t do whatever I want.” We also hear from three Afghans who left their country to live in the UK, Poland and the United States for a better life but are unable to forget the friends and family left behind. “My younger sister, she was really bright,” said Ibrahim, who is now a student in the UK. “She had the best scores in the whole school. She was really smart and had a really good future. She wanted to be a doctor but what happened to her was really sad. She’s now staying at home. She can’t go out. I don’t think there’s any opportunities for anyone.” A co-production between Boffin Media and the BBC OS team. (Photo: Taliban enforce stringent dress code for women, sparking global criticism, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 22 Aug 2024. Credit: Qudratullah Razwan/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)