When 98% of the population is short of food, all that is left is hope. In Afghanistan there is not much of that either. On Wednesday, the Taliban abruptly reversed their decision to let girls return to secondary school; the last-minute chaos appears to reflect internal disagreements. Tears fell as pupils arrived in classrooms for the first time since the Taliban takeover last August, only for their dreams to be shattered once more.
Taliban forces are carrying out revenge killings and threatening more. They are detaining and beating journalists and closing media outlets. They are harassing, assaulting and threatening lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Afghans. There are growing reports of detentions, rapes and killings of minorities, rights advocates and former officials.
