The Taliban government celebrated five years of ruling Afghanistan on Saturday, with flags galore and convoys of military vehicles, while critics decried tightening restrictions in all areas of daily life.

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.

Several thousand women die during childbirth every year in Afghanistan, which has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.