Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Saturday marked five years since sweeping back to power.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Helen McEntee has said that over the past five years, women and girls in Afghanistan have been subjected to an appalling campaign of discriminatory violence, abuse and exclusion.

International organisations and the UN say the Taliban have struggled to address the natural and humanitarian crises Afghanistan has faced over the past five years, in part because Afghan women are under severe restrictions.

The Taliban claimed it has expanded its diplomatic outreach to include over 40 embassies and consulates around the world.

The Taliban claimed it has expanded its diplomatic outreach to include over 40 embassies and consulates around the world.

Officials tout stability and end to war while women remain barred from universities and girls over 12 are shut out of school; UN warns of deepening rights crisis

On August 15, 2021, as US troops were nearing the end of their military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban militants reestablished control over the country. In interviews with RFE/RL, Afghan and US officials described the militant takeover as Afghan civilians tried to flee Kabul in desperation.

On August 15, 2021, as US troops were nearing the end of their military withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban militants reestablished control over the country. In interviews with RFE/RL, Afghan and US officials described the militant takeover as Afghan civilians tried to flee Kabul in desperation.

As the Taliban marks five years in power, a UN official warns of a severe human rights crisis in Afghanistan.

As the Taliban marks five years in power, a UN official warns of a severe human rights crisis in Afghanistan.

Just before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, RFE/RL spoke with several young Afghans in Kabul who voiced their fears and anxieties about the future. We have since followed how their lives have unfolded. We reconnected with them on the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power.

Malali Bashir, the managing editor of RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, recalls how she and her colleagues in Prague and Afghanistan covered the Taliban takeover of Kabul and collapse of the Afghan government on August 15, 2021.