A year after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban regime, despite promises to the contrary, human rights and women’s rights have been wound back and the country has been plunged into a humanitarian crisis.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights, suppressed the local media and, according to NGO Human Rights Watch, arbitrarily detained, tortured and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents.

These abuses have brought widespread international condemnation and hampered international efforts to address the country’s dire food security and health situation.

The Afghan economy has collapsed, mainly because international governments have stopped foreign aid and restricted financial transactions.

More than 90 per cent of Afghans have been food insecure for almost a year, causing millions of children to suffer from acute malnutrition and threatening serious long-term health problems.

Furthermore, since taking power, the Taliban have imposed rules that comprehensively prevent women and girls from some fundamental rights, including to expression, movement and education.

This has affected women’s access livelihoods, health care as well as basic necessities such as food and water,

The Taliban has prevented women from traveling or going to their workplace without a male family member accompanying them – an impossible requirement for almost all families – and barred them from many jobs.

Girls have also been banned from secondary schools.

The return of the Taliban to power in August last year presented a dilemma for the international community. When the US signed a peace deal with the group the previous February, it was being led several men on international terrorist lists.

Despite signing the deal, the US and other nations were unable to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, so the country was q2uickly placed the country under sanctions.

The US and Britain also refused to release more than $9 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank. And the international community cut back aid efforts, despite the fact that the former Western-backed Islamic Republic was highly dependent on foreign assistance to function.

The moves, aimed at putting pressure on the Taliban, have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis now affecting tens of millions of Afghans.

During the former Islamic Republic, foreign aid grants funded 75 percent of public spending.

Since the takeover, the United States has provided $775 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan despite the UN saying at least $4.4 billion is needed to address the emergency needs of more than 24 million Afghans – 60 percent of the population.

The crisis has been made worse by the war in Ukraine which is driving rising food prices.

In a perfect storm of problems, Afghanistan is also seeing declining currency values, high unemployment, and export restrictions on key products.

According to the Red Cross, the price of cooking oil alone has risen by 55 percent over the last year. Wheat flour is up by 68 percent. 

This has led to a situation where 70 percent of Afghan households are unable to provide basic needs for their families, according to the World Bank.

The UN says nearly 23 million people, including 3.2 million children, are at risk of malnutrition. That’s an increase of at least 100,000 children from early 2021.

By October 2021, two months after the Taliban returned to power, at least 50,000 newly displaced people were living in Kabul. More than 700,000 Afghans were displaced by conflict in 2021. Thousands more are being pushed to the cities each year by drought and uncertain harvests.

Meanwhile, aid agencies have called on the US and the Taliban to negotiate an agreement that allows ordinary Afghans to engage more easily in legitimate commercial activity.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Afghans have been suffering from some form of food insecurity since last August and have employed extreme coping mechanisms to pay for food, including sending children to work.

“The impact of the economic crisis on women and girls is especially severe, as women and girls have increasing difficulties accessing assistance and health care,” HRW said.

“The humanitarian situation would be even worse had the UN and other aid providers not substantially increased their operations in 2022.

“After a year in power, Taliban leaders should recognize the catastrophe they have created and reverse course on rights, before more Afghans suffer and more lives are lost,” the agency said.