Afghanistan’s Taliban has celebrated three years in power with a military parade, paying homage to its homemade bombs, fighter aircraft and goose-stepping security forces.
The Taliban’s armed forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery pieces through Bagram, the former United States airbase, where Chinese and Iranian diplomats were among hundreds who gathered for the parade and speeches on Wednesday.
The airbase served as the lynchpin for the US-led operations against the Taliban for two decades.
Taliban forces seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile. The anniversary is marked a day earlier on the Afghan calendar.
The Taliban government remains unrecognised by any other state, with restrictions on women, who bear the brunt of policies the United Nations has called “gender apartheid”, remaining a key sticking point.
“Three years have passed since the dreams of girls have been buried,” Madina, a 20-year-old former university student in Kabul, told AFP news agency.
“It’s a bitter feeling that every year, the celebration of this day reminds us of the efforts, memories, and goals we had for our future.”
Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who had been scheduled to appear at Bagram, praised the Taliban authorities’ victory over “Western occupiers” in a statement read by his chief of staff.
The Taliban government has “the responsibility to maintain Islamic rule, protect property, people’s lives and the respect of our nation”, he said.
Security has been a priority for Taliban authorities as they consolidated their power over the past three years, implementing laws based on their strict interpretation of Islam.
Rugby player Samiullah Akmal praised the day’s events, saying it was “better than other years”.
“As a young man, I see Afghanistan’s future is bright… We are independent and the people surrounding us are our own.”
‘Uncertain future’
While many Afghans expressed relief at the end of 40 years of successive conflicts, the economy remains stagnant and the population mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
“The past three years have been some of the worst of our lives,” said 26-year-old Zalmai, who works for a non-profit and only gave his last name.
“I don’t know what security the Taliban are talking about. People are hungry, the youth don’t have jobs… both girls and boys are facing uncertain future,” he said.
In a report, Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said there have been attempts to revive the economy, but no country accepts Afghanistan’s rulers as the legitimate government and major international financial restrictions are in place.
“The Taliban says it inherited a bankrupt country in a corrupt economic system reliant on foreign aid,” Bin Javaid said. “The Afghanistan national bank’s foreign reserves have also been confiscated by the US.”
A joint statement from international nongovernmental groups warned of the growing aid funding gap, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Women have been squeezed from public life – banned from many jobs as well as parks and gyms – and barred from secondary and higher education.
Alison Davidian, the UN Women’s head of the Afghanistan country office, told Al Jazeera that “three years ago, a woman in Afghanistan could technically decide to run for president. Now, she may not even be able to decide when to go buy groceries.
“I’m not saying that three years ago, it was perfect. It was not perfect. But it wasn’t this.”
