{"id":1000532,"date":"2026-08-14T15:53:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1000532\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:53:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:53:31","slug":"afghanistan-taliban-rulers-mark-5-years-kabul-residents-seek-jobs-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1000532\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan Taliban rulers mark 5 years: Kabul residents seek jobs, education"},"content":{"rendered":"

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) \u2014 As Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban rulers mark five years since sweeping back to power<\/a>, some Kabul residents say they feel safer after decades of conflict and upheaval but stress the leaders should now focus on creating jobs and expanding access to schools in the country where girls above the age of 12 are banned from education<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021, after it launched an offensive as the U.S. and other NATO troops withdrew from the country after two decades of war. The withdrawal led to chaotic scenes at and around Kabul\u2019s airport with thousands wanting to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God, the past five years have passed in safety,\u201d said Mohammad Qasim, 30, reflecting on the anniversary that comes against a backdrop of economic hardship in a conflict-stricken country. \u201cOur wish and hope from the government is to create job opportunities for the youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe, along with the entire nation, call upon the government to create employment opportunities for the youth and to encourage them to pursue education,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Taliban curbs women\u2019s rights despite pledge<\/p>\n

Before the takeover, the Taliban stated that, upon assuming power, it would allow women access to education, employment and public participation, albeit in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic principles.<\/p>\n

Soon after it seized power, the Taliban imposed an indefinite ban on girls\u2019 education beyond the sixth grade and, a few months later, also banned higher education for women until \u201cfurther notice.\u201d <\/p>\n

Women also were banned from entering gyms, parks and public baths, from taking part in sports and traveling to distant locations without a \u201cmahram,\u201d or male guardian.<\/p>\n

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has repeatedly said the administration is working to establish conditions under which girls and women can attend classrooms or university campuses in line with Islamic Sharia laws. The restrictions, nevertheless, remain in force.<\/p>\n

While the U.N. has acknowledged that the country has become more stable since the takeover, it has warned that lasting stability cannot be possible unless the Taliban rulers \u2014 who remain isolated internationally<\/a> \u2014 lift restrictions on women and girls, protect basic rights and address terrorism concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cA reduction in conflict has brought tangible benefits for many Afghans and created opportunities to focus on recovery, development and regional economic cooperation,\u201d the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, said in a statement ahead of the anniversary. It added, however, that the restrictions on women and girls impede Afghanistan\u2019s recovery and its reintegration with the international community.<\/p>\n

UN says Afghanistan in world\u2019s most severe women\u2019s rights crisis<\/p>\n

In a statement this week, the U.N.’s agency on women\u2019s rights, said Afghan women and girls are living under the world\u2019s most severe restrictions<\/a>, which not only violate their rights<\/a> but also threaten the country\u2019s social and economic future.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf a decade after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, Afghanistan has systematically dismantled the rights of half its population, making it a global outlier with no parallel in the modern world,\u201d U.N. Women said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the past year alone, this exclusion of women and girls from education, employment, public life, justice systems and healthcare has only intensified, entrenching what remains the world\u2019s most severe women\u2019s rights crisis,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Fazila Soroush, a 39-year-old Kabul-based entrepreneur and an advocate for women\u2019s rights, said the government had \u201cdemonstrated its worth to the people through its actions in every area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider it essential that the officials of the Islamic Emirate who had announced the closure of schools and universities until further notice, now make a clear and practical decision regarding this matter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the streets of Kabul, preparations for the anniversary celebrations were underway. Vendors sold the Taliban\u2019s white with black scripted flags while painters were busy writing slogans in praise of Islamic laws on walls, including: \u201cThe Islamic system has been achieved at the cost of the martyrs\u2019 blood\u201d and \u201cOur commitment stands firm: Consolidation and implementation of Islamic Sharia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taliban says it brought security and stability<\/p>\n

Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister in the Taliban government for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and culture, said in the five years the administration has delivered security, stabilized the currency, improved infrastructure and formed industrial parks that have created jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaturally, challenges and difficulties exist, yet we can highlight several accomplishments,\u201d Farahi told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Farahi, when asked, did not address the issue of the education of girls and women but said \u201cthe level of investment made in universities surpasses anything seen in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Emirate continues its efforts to further organize and improve services for our citizens in the fields of education and other sectors,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

The deputy minister rejected a U.N. report that documented terrorist networks in Afghanistan, saying \u201cthese are merely enemy propaganda, spread to portray the country as unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked to comment about its international isolation, Farahi insisted the Taliban government was engaged with some 40 countries. The Taliban government currently is only formally recognized by Russia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has fulfilled all the requirements necessary for official recognition. It is now up to the international community and others to step forward and take the appropriate action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

UN points at broader educational crisis<\/p>\n

The bans have left an estimated 2.4 million girls excluded from secondary education<\/a>, UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said this week \u2014 a 200,000 increase from last year. The restrictions have reversed two decades of progress that Afghanistan had made in education, the agency said.<\/p>\n

Pointing at a broader educational crisis, the agency said 53% of primary school-aged children are out of school. Schools lack basic infrastructure such as water, sanitation or heating, while natural disasters have also led to hundreds of school closures.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program said child malnutrition has reached critical levels<\/a> in a third of Afghanistan\u2019s provinces and is expected to worsen as funding shortfalls force cuts in food distributions and other support.<\/p>\n

In Kabul, Dost Mohammad Khan expressed support for the Taliban administration, saying the past five years have brought stability. He said however, that the country needs trained professionals such as doctors and engineers, urging the authorities to keep \u201call sectors operational.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also call upon the Islamic Emirate to permit women to attend school under the sharia dress code and we urge the public to heed the directives of the Emirate also,\u201d said the 38-year-old.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) \u2014 As Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban rulers mark five years since sweeping back to power, some Kabul…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1000533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[7574,13214,4219,57,556,37297,400651,50,80,3060,31132,5343,4086,1206,34170,103,107,130002],"class_list":["post-1000532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-afghanistan","tag-asia-pacific","tag-crime","tag-general-news","tag-islam","tag-kabul","tag-mohammad-qasim","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-schools","tag-taliban","tag-terrorism","tag-unesco","tag-united-nations","tag-womens-rights","tag-world","tag-world-news","tag-zabihullah-mujahid"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117094672514244586","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}