Five years on from the fall of Kabul: Taliban celebrate while Australia laments

Afghan women and girls are being erased from public life, according to accounts from survivors and activists who describe how the Taliban’s five-year rule has systematically restricted their freedoms. Salma, a 27-year-old former student from Kabul, now living in Australia, recalls the moment she realized the extent of the change. Two days after her engagement party in August 2021, the Taliban regained control of the capital, marking the beginning of a new era of oppression. “I woke up and I imagined so many things, but not that the Taliban would be outside,” she said. At the time, she was 22 and halfway through her master’s degree. Now, she watches as her homeland fades from global awareness, with Afghanistan increasingly viewed as a distant memory. The takeover occurred on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Kabul. Salma’s family, aware of the group’s growing influence, kept the television on continuously. But when she entered the living room that day, the signal was gone, cut entirely. “We thought maybe another war would happen but no one was expecting the government to leave,” she recalled. The atmosphere was tense, filled with fear and uncertainty. Embassies were closed, international organizations had departed, and prisoners were released, wandering the streets. The U.S. Embassy was evacuated, and Salma feared for her safety. “I kept thinking, ‘what’s going to happen to us?’” she said. “The image that had been given to us was that if they see you as Kabul-based, they will shoot you.” Salma ran a website dedicated to sharing stories of Afghan women across the country. One of her brothers, an Australian citizen working in academia, had traveled to Kabul for her engagement celebration. When the city fell, the Australian government reached out to him, offering assistance in returning home. Through his efforts, Salma’s family secured passage to safety. They packed minimal belongings, just one set of clothes each, and prepared to leave. Driving toward the airport, Salma witnessed the chaotic reality of the takeover. “It felt like the same city, the same buildings, the same street, but a city of ghosts,” she said. There were no women visible on the streets, and the air was thick with tension. The journey to the airport took two days, with repeated encounters with Taliban checkpoints and tanks blocking the roads. At the airport, the scene was overwhelming. Hundreds of people crowded the grounds, desperate for escape. Salma described seeing mothers cradling their children, pleading with foreign militaries for help. “You could just see the crowd of people trying to get closer to the airport, pushing for their future, for their life,” she said. After enduring long waits and navigating the chaos, Salma and her family finally boarded a military transport plane bound for Dubai. From the window, she watched as the people she was leaving behind continued to struggle. “What’s going to happen to the tens of thousands of people behind me?” she asked herself. “What’s going to happen to those children crying on the laps of their mother or in the hands of their father?” As the plane lifted off, Salma reflected on the lives she had left behind. She saw girls, young women, and families caught in the crossfire of a regime that has increasingly marginalized them. The Taliban, now in power for five years, continues to enforce strict rules limiting women’s participation in society. Reports indicate that nearly half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month due to security concerns and restrictions imposed by the group. Education for girls has also been severely curtailed, with an estimated 2.4 million girls banned from attending secondary school since 2021, making Afghanistan the only nation to outlaw female education beyond age 12. Australia, meanwhile, has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Afghan people despite the challenges posed by the Taliban’s governance. Government officials have highlighted ongoing efforts to provide humanitarian aid and hold the group accountable. However, recent developments suggest that these efforts may be undermined by increasing restrictions on aid workers and the detention of individuals associated with international organizations. As the situation worsens, the plight of Afghan women and girls grows more dire, with little sign of immediate relief.