In August 2021, the world was gripped by images beamed from Afghanistan when the Taliban entered Kabul. Terrified Afghans ran for their lives to the airport. People were clinging to the wings of aircraft and holding babies over barbed wire, hoping they would be taken to freedom. Thousands braved the crush outside, as the last of the international planes departed. For months afterwards, tens of thousands more fled overland to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
When war broke out in Ukraine, international attention waned. The Taliban consolidated its control across Afghanistan. The Islamic fundamentalists increasingly cracked down on women’s rights, in particular.
Afghanistan has now reopened a nascent tourism industry. Some people have even reported an increase in security in the country. But if you are a woman, or are from an ethnic minority, or wish to claim some basic human rights, you will most definitely not experience security.
