Photos paint a stark picture of Afghanistan before and after the Taliban took over and the US withdrew troops

Erin Snodgrass,Isabella ZavariseAug 20, 2022, 19:49 IST

Afghan internally displaced refugee women walk with their children to the bus as they return home to the east, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camp in the outskirts of Kabul on July 28, 2022.Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

The Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, and the US military fully withdrew by the end of the month.
Since the takeover, women's rights have been decimated throughout the country, while children starve.

Life in Afghanistan this month looks starkly different than it did just one year prior.

It's been a year since the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021. The US-backed Afghan government collapsed in a matter of days, and after 20 years in the country, the US withdrew its military presence ending America's longest war.

After reclaiming power, the Taliban vowed to usher in a more moderate era than Afghanistan saw the last time the group controlled the country prior to 9/11. Thus far, however, the group's promise has been left unfulfilled, with increasing crackdowns on women's rights, freedom of the press, and religious freedoms.

Nearly 100% of Afghans are expected to fall below the global poverty line before the year concludes, according to NBC News, and some have resorted to selling their organs or children in a desperate attempt to survive the new regime. In just one year, the already-poor, war-ravaged country has deteriorated even further under the thumb of the extremist Taliban.

Photos from the years before the takeover compared to more recent pictures of modern-day life in Afghanistan paint a grim picture.

While women's rights were tenuous in Afghanistan even before the Taliban takeover, many enjoyed access to schooling.

Girls attend their class at a school in Herat on May 9, 2021.Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images

But in the year since the Taliban took over, older girls have been stripped of their access to education, forced to attend secret schools where they can.

Girls attend class at a secret school on August 14, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Secondary education for girls has been banned since shortly after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan one year ago, spurring the creation of secret, unofficial schools for older girls.Photo by Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

The Taliban is cracking down on women's rights across the whole country. Earlier this year, the group announced that female TV news anchors would be forced to cover their faces during broadcasts as part of larger rules requiring all women in the country to be covered head to toe.

A female presenter for Tolo News, Sonia Niazi, covers her face in a live broadcast at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022.Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

The Taliban is cracking down on women's rights across the whole country. Earlier this year, the group announced that female TV news anchors would be forced to cover their faces during broadcasts as part of larger rules requiring all women in the country to be covered head to toe.

One day after the Taliban announced the new order, female presenters at some of the country's top stations defied the law by showing their faces.

An Afghan female presenter for 1TV channel, Masheed Barzz, removes her face veil during a break in a live broadcast at 1TV channel station in Kabul on May 25, 2022. After initially defying the order, women presenters are now wearing full hijabs and veils that leave only their eyes on view across channels like TOLOnews, 1TV, Shamshad TV and Ariana Television.Photo by Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

The quality of life for Afghanistan's children, while always harsh, has become downright bleak in the year since the Taliban's takeover.

Children wearing sacks as play along a dusty road on the outskirts of Jalalabad on September 2, 2020.NOORULLAH SHIRZADA / AFP

Here, young kids make a playground of destroyed military vehicles, a reminder of the country's war-torn past.

In this picture taken on November 13, 2021, boys play on a destroyed armored vehicle displayed along a road in Ghazni.HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

Food insecurity among children has also increased substantially since 2014.

In this photograph taken on May 14, 2019, Afghan boys enjoy yogurt-based drinks in the courtyard of the Hazrat-e Ali shrine, or 'Blue Mosque', during the holy month of Ramadan in Mazar-i-Sharif.FARSHAD USYAN / AFP

But the collapse of the economy and the freezing of Afghan and donor funds following the Taliban takeover has created an even worse humanitarian crisis.

Afghan children are seen with their mothers in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 16, 2022. In Afghanistan, children cannot stand on their feet despite their age; the reason is simply hunger.Sayed Khodaiberdi Sadat/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Day-to-day life in Afghanistan looks different. In 2021, the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha fell at a perilous time for the country as foreign forces withdrew after 20 years.

Afghans enjoy the rides at Kabul City Amusement Park on the first day of Eid al-Adha holiday on July 20, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Day-to-day life in Afghanistan looks different. In 2021, the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha fell at a perilous time for the country as foreign forces withdrew after 20 years.

Taliban soldiers loomed over this year's Eid celebrations.

Afghan Muslim devotees offer their Eid al-Adha prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on July 9, 2022.Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

Three short years ago, Afghan Muslims celebrated the holiday with hugs and prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul.

Afghan Muslims hug each other after offering Eid al-Adha prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on August 11, 2019.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

But at the same mosque, on the same holiday this year, armed Taliban fighters oversaw the celebration.

A Taliban fighter stands guard as Afghan Muslim devotees offer their Eid al-Adha prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on July 9, 2022.A Taliban fighter stands guard as Afghan Muslim devotees offer their Eid al-Adha prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on July 9, 2022.

Once-familiar landmarks throughout the country have been co-opted by the Taliban, as well. The Presidential Palace in Kabul was once home to international diplomats and heads of state.

A person receives his first shot of coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine brought in the country with the help of India during a vaccination campaign at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on February 23, 2021.Presidency of Afghanistan / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Once-familiar landmarks throughout the country have been co-opted by the Taliban, as well. The Presidential Palace in Kabul was once home to international diplomats and heads of state.

But Taliban fighters took control of the Presidential Palace in August 2021, prompting then-President Ashraf Ghani to flee. The building, known as The Arg, is now guarded by the group.

A Taliban fighter guards a gate after a gathering attended by Afghanistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund and Minister for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Sheikh Mohammad Khalid at the former presidential palace in Kabul on August 13, 2022.WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

But Taliban fighters took control of the Presidential Palace in August 2021, prompting then-President Ashraf Ghani to flee. The building, known as The Arg, is now guarded by the group.

Life under Taliban rule has grown grim. But Afghans aren't giving up. A few days before the Taliban's anniversary of returning to power, women marched in Kabul, chanting 'bread, work, and freedom.'

Taliban fighters fired into the air as they dispersed a rare rally by women as they chanted "Bread, work and freedom" and marched in front of the education ministry building, days ahead of the first anniversary of the hardline Islamists' return to power, on August 13, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan.Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

Life under Taliban rule has grown grim. But Afghans aren't giving up. A few days before the Taliban's anniversary of returning to power, women marched in Kabul, chanting 'bread, work, and freedom.'

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Photos paint a stark picture of Afghanistan before and after the Taliban took over and the US withdrew troops

While women's rights were tenuous in Afghanistan even before the Taliban takeover, many enjoyed access to schooling.

But in the year since the Taliban took over, older girls have been stripped of their access to education, forced to attend secret schools where they can.

The Taliban is cracking down on women's rights across the whole country. Earlier this year, the group announced that female TV news anchors would be forced to cover their faces during broadcasts as part of larger rules requiring all women in the country to be covered head to toe.

One day after the Taliban announced the new order, female presenters at some of the country's top stations defied the law by showing their faces.

The quality of life for Afghanistan's children, while always harsh, has become downright bleak in the year since the Taliban's takeover.

Here, young kids make a playground of destroyed military vehicles, a reminder of the country's war-torn past.

Food insecurity among children has also increased substantially since 2014.

But the collapse of the economy and the freezing of Afghan and donor funds following the Taliban takeover has created an even worse humanitarian crisis.

Day-to-day life in Afghanistan looks different. In 2021, the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha fell at a perilous time for the country as foreign forces withdrew after 20 years.

Taliban soldiers loomed over this year's Eid celebrations.

Three short years ago, Afghan Muslims celebrated the holiday with hugs and prayers at Shah-e-Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul.

But at the same mosque, on the same holiday this year, armed Taliban fighters oversaw the celebration.

Once-familiar landmarks throughout the country have been co-opted by the Taliban, as well. The Presidential Palace in Kabul was once home to international diplomats and heads of state.

But Taliban fighters took control of the Presidential Palace in August 2021, prompting then-President Ashraf Ghani to flee. The building, known as The Arg, is now guarded by the group.

Life under Taliban rule has grown grim. But Afghans aren't giving up. A few days before the Taliban's anniversary of returning to power, women marched in Kabul, chanting 'bread, work, and freedom.'