Answers to the top 9 questions about the Taliban victory in Afghanistan asked on Google

Bethany DawsonAug 22, 2021, 15:56 IST

Thousands try to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban takes control.Reuters

Some of the top trending questions about the crisis in Afghanistan include who the Taliban are and why the US was involved in the first place.
We've spoken to experts to give you the best answers to the most asked questions on Google.
Here is information on the 9 most asked points.

Since the dramatic images of the sudden Taliban capture of Kabul confirmed its victory in Afghanistan this week, people hungry for an explanation of the fast-moving and complex situation have been turning to the Google search engine for answers.

For example, searches for "who leads the Taliban" shot up by 3500% compared to 12 months ago, according to Google Trends data.

To make sense of the rapidly unfolding situation, here is an explainer to the most-asked questions, from how women's rights will be impacted, to where the refugees are going, to how you can help.

Who are the Taliban?

Taliban fighters standing guard in Herat on August 19, 2021. AREF KARIMI/AFP via Getty Images

Who is the leader of the Taliban?

Abdul Ghani Baradar during the final declaration of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar's capital Doha on July 18, 2021 Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Where are Afghan refugees going?

Afghan people sit inside a US military aircraft to leave Afghanistan, at the military airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021. Photo by SHAKIB RAHMANI/AFP via Getty Images

How are women's rights in Afghanistan threatened right now?

An Afghan woman outside the Australian embassy, at Shantipath on August 19, 2021 in New Delhi, India. Photo by Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

What is Sharia Law in Afghanistan?

A group of people march with Afghan flags during the Afghanistan's Independence Day rally in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 19, 2021. Photo by Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

How do I help Afghanistan?

Afghan children look at a passing aircraft a makeshift camp for displaced Afghans fleeing the fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan Security Forces at Hasa-e-Awal Park, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. MARCUS YAM / Los Angeles Times via Getty

Does Afghanistan have nuclear weapons?

Why were the US and UK in Afghanistan in the first place?

US soldiers stand guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul on August 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan. Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

Why did the US pull out of Afghanistan?

US President Joe Biden speaks about the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan from the East Room of the White House August 16, 2021, in Washington, DC. - President Joe Biden broke his silence Monday on the US fiasco in Afghanistan with his address to the nation from the White House, as a lightning Taliban victory sent the Democrat's domestic political fortunes reeling. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

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