The Taliban celebrated three years in power by holding a military display at a former US base. American-made armored vehicles joined Soviet-era tanks at an event in Kabul attended by diplomats from China and Iran. During a similar demonstration in the southern city of Kandahar, an American Black Hawk helicopter flew overhead, displaying an enormous Taliban flag.
The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 following the collapse of the US-endorsed Afghan government and the withdrawal of American troops. Donald Trump fiercely criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the withdrawal, including leaving behind military equipment, now being displayed by the ferocious Islamist group which has since ruled the country with an iron fist.
Rights groups say that freedom of expression and religion has disappeared, with minorities living in fear of the death penalty. Arbitrary detention and torture are widespread, as are restrictions on women that the United Nations has classified as a crime against humanity. Women-owned businesses were closed, and women were banned from education and work. The Taliban’s rules on women even prevent them from leaving home or seeking medical treatment.
Last year, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution condemning the Taliban’s prohibition on women’s education and demanding that the measures be revoked. Nevertheless, the global organization came under fire this year when it agreed to take women’s rights off the agenda in exchange for the Taliban’s participation in an Afghanistan conference.
Human Rights Watch Executive Director Tirana Hassan said the UN’s decision to include the Taliban in a June summit and concede to their demand that women not be discussed was “shocking.” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard expressed a similar view and added that the United Nations had sacrificed its credibility in agreeing to Taliban demands. She said the meeting’s legitimacy was “in tatters” because it did not “adequately address the human rights crisis in Afghanistan.”
According to a report last year, female suicide in Afghanistan has skyrocketed. Women accounted for 80% of all suicides or suicide attempts in 2023.
