Taliban officials in Afghanistan 'beat girls just for smiling and talking too loud,' report says

• A 16-year-old girl in Afghanistan detailed to The Guardian how her life changed after the Taliban's takeover.
• She stopped attending school because she witnessed the Taliban beat girls "just for smiling and talking too loud."

A 16-year-old girl in Afghanistan said she's depressed and not interested in attending school in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover, The Guardian reported.

"Three times now I've seen women being beaten in the market by Taliban," said Farkhunda, whose name was changed by The Guardian to protect her identity. "Some were wearing trousers they thought were too tight, you should have seen how broken they were afterwards."

"Another time they beat girls just for smiling and talking too loud. It's a natural thing to chat about dresses you are buying and things," she said.

She stopped going to school in September and has since been diagnosed with depression. Farkhunda has opted for home-schooling instead in an effort to avoid the severity of Taliban rule.

"Since then I've even stopped going to study at the madrassa [religious school], it's better to be at home than run into these animals," she said.

The Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan following President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw US troops from the region. In its takeover, the Taliban renamed the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, reverting back to the same name used during the last time the regime took power in 1996.

Under the Taliban's rule at that time, women were severely oppressed, facing restrictions such as being barred from working or attending schools.

Last year, the militant group promised to respect women's rights within Islamic law, but human rights activists, Afghan women, and the White House have been skeptical.

After the takeover, women for months warned that they'll face harsh consequences under the Taliban's rule. Many women like 23-year-old Sajida, who gave up her dreams of becoming a prominent business executive in Afghanistan, are already experiencing dramatic changes in their lifestyles, Insider previously reported.

Soon after their seizure of Afghanistan's government, Taliban fighters reportedly set an Afghan woman on fire for feeding them "bad cooking," Insider's Joshua Zitser reported.

Taliban fighters also instructed a reporter from CNN to step aside while reporting on camera because she's a woman.

One Afghan woman pleaded with an American soldier, begging for help. The woman was behind bars trying to communicate with the soldier. "Help, help," she said, crying and in between gasps. "I want to help family. Taliban coming for me."