Today, August 15, is the first anniversary of the return of the Taliban to power. Zan Times asked seven people from different walks of life their thoughts about the past year. Below is their edited and condensed responses to the question, “How has your situation been this year?”
Asghar, shopkeeper
The situation is very bad!
Since the day that the Taliban came to power, the economy has collapsed. We have no customers. The situation of shopkeepers is very bad. I have fewer than 10 customers all day. There is no work. People cannot afford to buy. A friend of mine who sells carpets said that since the arrival of the Taliban, he has not sold even a single carpet. Well, if a shopkeeper doesn’t sell for one month or two months, how can he pay for the rent for the shop and other expenses? He would be forced to close his shop. Most of the jobs are gone.
Most coffee shops have closed down because the Taliban does not allow male and female customers to sit together in a restaurant or coffee shop. They say, “It is forbidden.” they say, “Men and women should sit separately.” Well, people come to the restaurant to eat with their friends and family. Families don’t come to restaurants if they are not allowed to sit at the same table. The situation is very bad.
Banafsheh, housewife
There is no hope for the future!
Schools are closed. All the people are depressed and suffering; they don’t know what the future of their children will be like. There is no work or security. Mothers grieve. I also worry and grieve. Most days, I think that if the girls can’t go to school, what will happen to their future? There is no entertainment. The market is closed. You do not hear the sound of music. Seeing all this makes one depressed. I mean, is this going to stay like this forever?
Before the Taliban, we thought we were making progress but now we have reversed back 20 years. As long as the Taliban are in power, no one has hope for the future. Because everyone can see that the Taliban are unreformable. The world is moving forward and progressing, but we are going backwards. Women had relative freedom before. They could work and study. They could appear in the media. But now … it’s unpalatable for me when I see that all the women have to wear black. Now, in our city, they said that women should not wear “jeans” pants. They should not laugh or talk loudly. They said that if they see women laughing and talking in loud voices, they would whip them. This should be unacceptable to everyone. When I see and hear these things, my heart sinks. What if the Taliban remain in power forever? The mere thought sounds scary.
Omid, University student
The past year was not pleasant for anyone!
A year of university closure has left every student depressed and frustrated. Almost more than 40 percent of my classmates have dropped out. Many of them have left the country. Some have lost their jobs and can no longer afford to go to university. There is no hope, and the students see their future to be bleak. Although the Taliban opened universities, the situation is such that students have lost motivation. Most learning activities, such as research, seminars, and conferences have ceased to exist. Students just make it to class and go home. In the past year, we saw the Taliban are unchangeable and the future with them looks bleak.
Simin, housewife
People are afraid!
In the past year, most of the women who worked outside the home have lost their jobs. Everyone is unemployed. The economy is bad. Everyone is in serious hardship.
Our girls are not allowed to go to school. The Taliban said that women should not go out, should not laugh, and should only walk outside of their homes with a male chaperone. Now, men should also leave their work and walk as chaperones with their wives!
There are also rumours that the Taliban are abducting beautiful women. People are afraid. They think that it is safer to marry off their underage daughters. When you go to the market and see the dead bodies of young men on display, the Taliban say, “They were thieves or kidnappers.” Everything you see and hear affects your nerves and ruins your mood. In our area, every month I see four to five dead bodies hanging from somewhere. No one can say anything. In such a situation, what hope is there for the future?
Mohammad, IT specialist
The situation is unpredictable!
I work in a telecommunications company. Since the Taliban takeover, we have had financial problems. Unemployment is rampant. Our office used to provide telecommunication and internet services to international organizations, which have left the country and therefore our company is collapsing. Our main office in Kabul had 200 employees, now it is down to 50.
In the past year, young and old have been thinking of leaving the country. The reason is clear: People were used to some form of freedom in the last 20 years, now no one can do anything. People can’t even go out with their families. In the southern provinces, the restrictions have increased.
Because the schools and universities are closed, our young generation lost their enthusiasm and interest for education.
I wanted to go to India to continue my education and get my master’s degree. But I can’t do that now. You can’t plan for the future at all. The situation in Afghanistan is becoming more unpredictable. People are in despair. Every day, incomes are down and the prices are up.
Siddiqa, female head of a household
Life hardly passes!
I am a mother of three children. My husband was killed in an explosion three years ago and I am the breadwinner for my children. Before the Taliban, I used to do hand-embroidering of Afghan traditional clothes for a wage. I used to get clothes and other materials from the shopkeepers. I could embroider 10 to 15 outfits per month which would get 500 to 1000 afghani for each dress, which I would use for rent and groceries. But with the arrival of the Taliban, the Afghan traditional clothes are not selling well and shopkeepers don’t give me more than one or two outfits a month. The money is not even enough for us to eat. Inevitably, my eight-year-old son now works on the streets and polishes boots. He barely brings home 50 afghani a day. My other two children are young and cannot work. Life hardly passes.
Mustafa, video producer
We have lost ourselves!
Before the Taliban, I had a production office. I used to record and prepare programs for YouTube. I was also able to produce for other places as well. I had long-term goals and plans, but with the arrival of the Taliban restrictions, everything changed. I am forced to stay home and all my plans turned upside down. Now, we cannot record anything. We can’t even take a picture outside — we would be questioned.
Our freedoms were taken away from us. Our hopes and goals were taken from us. Before, if we did something, it was based on a goal and hoping for a future. But now? It is only to meet the needs of life and solve economic problems. No goal. No future. We no longer have a vision of the future because the right to do so is taken from us. We have lost ourselves.
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees.
