Afghanistan Under Taliban Rule

The Taliban continues to impose its version of Islamic Sharia law on Afghanistan after retaking control of the country last summer.

• Their latest moves – both official and unofficial – include restrictions that prevent men from grooming, women from traveling solo or attending school (after previously saying it would be allowed), and all citizens from accessing international media.

🇦🇫 A deeper dive… Roughly two-thirds of Afghans are under the age of 25, and nearly all of them grew up in an era of relative freedom post-2001.

• But the Taliban has promised to return Afghanistan to the “traditional” values of the late ‘90s, when music and TV were banned, men were forbidden from trimming their beards and women were required to wear head-to-toe burkas, among other things.
• Afghan women held mass protests in the weeks and months following the Taliban’s takeover to advocate for continued equal rights, despite a ban on demonstrations without government permission.

🌍 Zoom out: A decade after the anti-government Arab Spring protests – led mostly by younger generations – the Middle East is still dealing with social unrest stemming in-part from high rates of youth joblessness.

• Nearly 30% of young people in the Arab states and North Africa are unable to find work, more than double the international average, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).