How life has changed for Afghans since the Taliban takeover

15.08.2022, 11:07 dw.com

On August 15, 2021, the Taliban overthrew Ashraf Ghani's government and seized power in Afghanistan. One year later, the country is facing multiple challenges that demand immediate global attention. The Taliban took the world by surprise when they captured Kabul on August 15 last year experiencing little or no resistance from former President Ashraf Ghani's forces. The Islamic fundamentalist group finally managed to return to power after the US overthrew their regime in a 2001 military invasion. Experts say the downfall of Ghani's government was inevitable once NATO forces started withdrawing from the war-ravaged country in May 2021 as a result of Washington's deal with the Taliban in February 2020. But few expected the country to fall to the militants so quickly. Apart from the geopolitical impact of the Taliban's return to power, life for ordinary Afghans has changed drastically since last year — mostly for the worse.