The fall of Afghanistan to the extremist Taliban was a catastrophe that shattered the dreams and hopes of its people overnight. This group’s rise didn’t just bring suffering to women and girls; it unleashed destruction on the entire population, even impacting the soil and climate of Afghanistan. When asked how the past three years under Taliban rule have been, women and girls could fill volumes with stories of injustice, cruelty, humiliation, and the countless losses they’ve endured. These years have brought nothing but chains, killings, deprivation, and devastation.
It’s almost impossible to put into words the terrible conditions we’ve endured or continue to face. So many of our motivations have withered, replaced by regret. Dreams that once seemed within reach have faded into nothing. What was once joy has turned to sorrow, and an overwhelming sadness has replaced happiness. Girls who once aimed to study and pursue their dreams now find themselves empty, mourning all that was taken from them. These days, they’ve lost their sense of identity—nobody sees the bright, hopeful girls they once were. They’ve searched tirelessly for a flicker of hope, trying to find new ways to chase their dreams, but every path ends in a deadlock. The Taliban have even stolen their right to breathe freely.
When I think back on the last twenty years and the relentless efforts of women to break the chains of prejudice and stereotypes, my heart aches. For two decades, women and girls fought hard to pave the way for future generations, to change how society viewed them, and to build a world free from gender discrimination. They worked tirelessly and succeeded. The result was an era where boys and girls attended universities, schools, and even sports centers. But now, all that progress has been erased. Schools, universities, jobs, and education—every right women fought for—have been stripped away.
When I think of myself and other girls, sitting at home with nothing but our sorrow, I can’t help but remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He explained that human beings require basic things to survive, starting with food and shelter, and rising to safety, love, respect, and self-fulfillment. Yet here in Afghanistan, women and girls only have access to the most basic needs—food and clothing. We are deprived of everything else. Many are so poor that even those basic needs are out of reach, making survival feel like an unattainable dream. Since the Taliban seized power, the job market has collapsed, leaving many families without anyone to provide for them.
Over these past three years, both men and women in Afghanistan’s workforce have suffered greatly, and fear has silenced most of us. Anyone who dares to speak out against the Taliban faces death, imprisonment, or brutal torture. I am certain that, like me, every girl forced out of school is struggling with depression and sees no future ahead.
For two years, we held onto hope. We believed that perhaps the Taliban would leave, and we told ourselves we had to stay strong and fight for our dreams. We thought that schools and universities would reopen for girls when they were gone. We dared to dream again. But as time has passed, things have only gotten worse.
I don’t know how much longer this tyranny will last, but what scares me most is the way Taliban ideology is being imprinted on the minds of children and teenagers. No girls or women are standing beside them, contributing to society’s progress. Sometimes, I don’t even know how to describe the state of my community, my country, now controlled by the Taliban.
Still, the history of Afghanistan offers me a glimmer of hope. No oppressive or misogynistic regime has ever lasted. They all fall, eventually. Our country has weathered many storms, and this too will pass. The Taliban’s rule will not be an exception. One day, it will collapse, and all of us, scattered across the world as refugees, will come together again.
You can read the Persian version of this Afghan woman’s story here:
