Taliban rule Situation in Afghanistan

Taliban celebrate five years in power with flags and cricket

The Taliban regime is celebrating five years in power today with flags, dancing and convoys of military vehicles, reports AFP.

Hundreds of people have gathered to celebrate in front of the former US embassy in Kabul, where the authorities are also arranging a cricket match. Women are prohibited from both participating and watching.

The capital has also been decorated with new murals, the text of which reads "independence is a sign of dignity, pride and identity".

The Taliban took power in Afghanistan after the chaotic withdrawal of the US in 2021. Since then, they have severely restricted the freedom of their population, especially women.

23-year-old: I feel like a 500-year-old woman

During the five years that the Taliban have ruled Afghanistan, the country's women have gotten worse and worse. A 23-year-old, who dared not give her name, told AFP that she felt like she was suffocating.

– The last five years have been so difficult that I feel like a 500-year-old woman who cannot die.

According to UNESCO, 2.4 million girls in Afghanistan lack access to anything more than the most basic education. Women are also excluded from most jobs, and are not allowed to move around in public without male company.

 “It is hell to be a woman in Afghanistan”

Neither the US nor the international community is doing much of anything to improve the situation of women in Afghanistan. This is what John Sopko, formerly responsible for the US reconstruction program for the country, told CNN.

– To be completely blunt, it is hell to be a woman in Afghanistan, he says.

When Donald Trump cut funding for his aid agency USAID in 2025, the equivalent of almost 17 billion kronor in aid disappeared in one fell swoop. Many other countries have also cut aid since the Taliban took power. Sweden withdrew its so-called development aid, which was used to support women and girls, in 2025.

Afghanistan is the only country on earth where girls are not allowed to attend school for more than six years. According to UN Women, one in two Afghan women leaves home less than twice a month.