Taliban leaders and officials convened in Kabul's Loya Jirga assembly hall on Saturday to commemorate five years since their return to power in Afghanistan, highlighting perceived stability and the cessation of conflict. Concurrently, a senior United Nations official voiced concerns about a severe human rights crisis in the country, noting that girls over age 12 are barred from education.
The Taliban seized control on August 15, 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces concluded their withdrawal after a two-decade military engagement. The departure led to significant chaos, particularly at Kabul airport, as many Afghans attempted to flee.
Shortly after assuming power, the Taliban administration enacted a ban on education for girls beyond the sixth grade, subsequently extending the prohibition to higher education for women, despite earlier assurances that women would have access to education, employment, and public life. Restrictions have also been imposed on women's access to public spaces, participation in sports, and travel to distant locations without a male escort.
Officials and thousands of citizens attended the Loya Jirga event, where speeches marked what they termed Afghanistan's liberation from foreign forces. The Taliban government remains internationally isolated, with Russia being the sole nation to have formally recognized it.
"We pray to Almighty God to forever protect our homeland from occupation, aggression, wars, and insecurity, and to enable our people to enjoy peace, tranquility, and prosperity under the auspices of the Sharia-based government," stated Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban government’s deputy spokesman, during the ceremony. No women were present at the event.
Celebrations extended to provinces across Afghanistan, featuring displays of Taliban flags and slogans along major thoroughfares and marketplaces.
Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, described the nation as experiencing a profound human rights crisis. "While the era of war has ended, it’s questionable whether there’s real peace, and the human rights situation has steadily deteriorated, most dramatically for women and girls," Bennett said, adding that his mandate concluded the situation amounts to the crime against humanity of gender persecution. He further noted, "The crisis extends well beyond gender discrimination, even beyond gender apartheid." Bennett detailed ongoing reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, restrictions on free expression, attacks on journalists and human rights defenders, persecution of minorities, discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, and a reduction in civic space.
Bennett cautioned the international community against normalizing the Taliban's policies, warning that such actions would legitimize discrimination and imply that victims' suffering is negotiable.
In a recent interview, Molvi Hayatullah Mahajar Farahi, deputy minister for broadcasting at the Ministry of Information and Culture, acknowledged "challenges and difficulties" but asserted that the administration has provided security, infrastructure, and job creation over the past five years. When questioned about the education of girls and women, Farahi did not directly address the issue but claimed that investment in universities has surpassed previous levels.
UNESCO estimates that approximately 2.4 million girls are excluded from secondary education. UN Women reported that women and girls face the world's most severe restrictions, and these bans are detrimental to Afghanistan's future, with a shortage of educators, healthcare professionals, and midwives threatening the nation's social and economic stability.