The Fall Of Kabul And The Four Years Of Taliban Regime

Forbes

6 hours ago

August 15, 2025, marks four years of the Taliban regime, after the fall of Kabul in 2021. The four years of the Taliban regime have been marked by human rights violations on a mass scale, with women and girls and religious minorities being removed from society, piece by piece, one way or another. Women and girls are subjected to what can only be described as gender apartheid, defined as 'a system of governance, based on laws and/or policies, which imposes systematic segregation of women and men and may also systematically exclude women from public spaces and spheres.' Religious minorities, on the other hand, are subjected to religious persecution, with the Hazara facing genocidal atrocities. Against this backdrop, Russia formally recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government, and others, including China, are looking to do the same.
The last four years have seen a litany of decrees being adopted by the Taliban, which resulted in women and girls being banned from education, employment, positions of power, movement, and virtually any activities outside their homes. The Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice further added and affirmed these restrictions, effectively removing women and girls from society and silencing their voices.
To exacerbate the situation, the enforcement of the decrees and laws has been arbitrary, with the authorities going above and beyond the restrictive provisions, thus adding to the suffering of women and girls in the country. Among others, in July 2025, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported how the de facto authorities' monitoring of women's adherence to the hijab instruction appeared to intensify in some parts of the country. UNAMA indicated that 'Provincial de facto Departments for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice are applying the mahram requirement in ways not clearly specified by the Law on Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice or other instructions issued by the de facto Ministry.' This included reports of de facto Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice inspectors instructing health clinics, shops, markets, government offices and taxi drivers to deny services to women not accompanied by a mahram. UNAMA further reported that 'dozens of UN female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats from unidentified individuals in relation to their work with UNAMA and other UN agencies, funds and programs, requiring the UN to implement interim measures to protect their safety.' An investigation by the de facto Ministry of Interior is said to be underway.
The situation of women and girls in the country is expected to further deteriorate. In August 2025, the UN Women, CARE International and other partners published a gender alert amid a surge in returnees to Afghanistan. Women and girls account for a third of returnees from Iran so far this year, and about half of those coming from Pakistan. The gender alert raised the issue that, as women and girls in Afghanistan more broadly, but also the returnees in particular, face increased risks of poverty, early marriage, violence, exploitation and unprecedented restrictions on their rights, movements and freedoms. The returnees are additionally vulnerable as they arrive with little protection and support. They often would not have the 'appropriate' clothes or hijab to wear, no food to eat, no contact number and no relatives to stay with. Those traveling without a mahram – a male guardian – face particular risks. The UN also reported cases of extortion, harassment and threats of violence at border crossings. However, as the U.N. warns, the real challenge is still ahead, as millions of others are to be returned to Afghanistan, adding to some 22.9 million people – close to half the population - in need of humanitarian assistance.
Four years of the Taliban in power had a devastating effect on religious minorities in the country. Some of the smallest minorities were evacuated as the Taliban was taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, with some members going underground. Larger groups, unable to be evacuated, such as the Hazara, have been subjected to years of persecution and targeted with bombings and attacks on their schools, hospitals, and Shia mosques, among others. While IS-KP claimed responsibility for most of them, the Taliban, as the de facto authorities, failed to prevent such attacks and ensure that those responsible faced justice. The serious risk faced by the community continues to be unaddressed.
The four years of the Taliban regime have seen many more human rights violations affecting the Afghan society as a whole. All these violations have been reported by multiple sources, including United Nations bodies. Despite this, Russia formally recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government. In order to do so, Russia had to remove the designation of the Taliban as a terror organization. China is looking to do the same. States must be warned that recognizing the Taliban despite its sheer disregard for human rights standards, segregating and removing women from society, and accommodating the persecution of religious minorities cannot be accepted in the 21st century without making them complicit in the violations.