Three years ago, on this date, the province of Herat succumbed to the Taliban. With an escalation of attacks surrounding the province of Herat, they initially succeeded in effortlessly capturing 17 districts, culminating in the complete fall of Herat, Badghis, and Ghor on August 12.
Numerous residents of Herat that in the three years since the fall of their province and the subsequent total collapse of Afghanistan, their lives have undergone significant transformations. Unemployment, the imposition of restrictions on women, the barring of girls from education, and an increase in poverty and destitution are among the challenges they now confront.
Somaya Afzali, a university student, recounts her experiences over the past three years: “Though three years have passed since the fall of Herat it remains vivid in my mind, like a horror film. I vividly remember it was a Thursday, and everyone was so engulfed in chaos and fear that they didn’t know what to do during this time, I had been deprived of my education, endured days of profound depression, and saw the future as exceedingly bleak.”
Like Somaya, many girls have been deprived of their education and barred from attending university and school, resulting in a rise in mental health disorders among women and girls. In addition to these challenges, a significant number of Afghan citizens, including intellectuals and cultural elites, have also fled the country.
Maryam Moradi, who has seen her two and one daughter depart from her and leave Afghanistan over the past three years, shares “After the fall of the country, many people became refugees, many were separated from their family friends. The burden of this separation, compounded by the political and social upheavals within the country, has made life exceedingly more difficult for everyone.”
Before the fall of Herat, fierce battles raged for several weeks between the security forces of the former government and the Taliban in various corners of the province.
During this tumultuous period, Mohammad Ismail Khan also rose to lead a popular uprising against the Taliban, fighting valiantly for several weeks. However, both the civilian militias and military forces ultimately succumbed to defeat, and on August 12, the military personnel and commandos stationed at the Shindand Airfield in Herat—one of the largest military airfields in the country—abandoned it, a decision that has remained unchanged to this day, three years later.
- نویسنده : Afghanistan Women News Agency
- منبع خبر : Afghanistan Women News Agency
