02_A doctor in the intensive neonatal care unit is washing her hands. Women are permitted to work in hospital gynecology and maternity wards. There is a significant demand for female doctors in Afghanistan because they are the only ones who can provide care for women and girls. While there is no specific law that forbids female medical professionals, many traditional Afghan families prevent their female relatives from receiving treatment from male doctors. More than 3,000 women who had graduated from medical schools before the ban on higher education for women were prevented from taking the board exams needed to practice. This decision deprived the country, which was already facing a critical shortage of female medical professionals, of a much-needed influx of new doctors.

03_Women are attending a secret sewing class in Bamyan. The classes are mostly kept secret because women are no longer allowed to study beyond the sixth grade. Women are allowed to create traditional crafts and clothing and are mostly sold in small shops around the city, and they can even participate in the expo in Kabul to showcase their products. The main issue, however, is the significant lack of customers for these traditionally made products, stemming from the Taliban's return to power and the small number of potential Western clients currently present or visiting the country.

04_A group of young women walks down the street after attending madrasa school. While girls' secondary schools have been closed for nearly two years, the United Nations has reported a significant increase in newly registered madrasas throughout the country. The U.N. has identified over 7,000 registered madrasas in Afghanistan, with approximately 380 designated for girls.Taliban officials have confirmed that there are no age restrictions for girls attending these seminaries. The Taliban are widely criticized for enforcing a form of "gender apartheid" designed to remove women from most public spheres. In addition to restrictions on education, Afghan women are prohibited from most jobs and are even barred from entering certain public places, such as parks and sports centers.

05_A group of women is sitting in a tailor shop, waiting for their garments to be finished. The Taliban's local morality police have instructed male tailors to stop making dresses for women and girls. While they have not outright banned male tailors from creating dresses, they have prohibited them from taking measurements of women. The group has warned that violating this order could result in the closure of their shops.

06_A child in the courtyard of an elementary school. Since the Taliban returned to power, girls are only allowed to study up to the sixth grade and cannot be in mixed classes. An exception is made if there are many boys, allowing mixed classes only up to the third grade. Afghanistan currently stands out as one of the countries with the highest levels of gender-based violence globally, a situation exacerbated by the oppressive decrees of the Taliban and deeply rooted patriarchal norms that deprive women of social privileges, autonomy in decision-making, and control over their assets and resources. The Taliban have progressively eroded the safeguards against gender-based violence, including the dismantling of the judicial system that previously enabled female judges, prosecutors, and lawyers to advocate for women's rights.

07_Kids and teens are playing in a small park in Kabul at sunset. Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, children are experiencing severe hunger, exploitation, and a loss of educational opportunities, especially for girls. The Taliban has explicitly declared that the preferred scenario is for women to refrain from leaving their homes altogether, except in cases of absolute necessity. These restrictions on dress are not merely about clothing; they form part of a larger agenda to erase women from public life, limiting their movement, expression, and participation in society. This stringent control over women's bodies and lives seeks to reinforce a deeply patriarchal and oppressive framework, with the home designated as the only space where the Taliban claims it is safe for women to be.

08_A group of Taliban members is enjoying the view of Kabul at sunset. The Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, two decades after being ousted by U.S. forces. During their strict rule, they have severely restricted women's rights and neglected essential services. Since then, the world has adopted a strategy of isolation combined with the new regime. Western nations, particularly frustrated by the Taliban's restrictions on the rights of girls and women, have implemented a series of sanctions, asset freezes, and banking limitations.

09_A group of women wearing burqas is shopping in a local market in Kabul. According to a report from the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, Afghan women feel scared or unsafe leaving their homes alone due to Taliban decrees and enforcement campaigns concerning clothing and male guardianship. They are also imposing restrictions on women's access to employment, travel, and healthcare if they are unmarried or do not have a male guardian. Additionally, they are arresting those who fail to comply with the Taliban's interpretation of hijab, or Islamic headscarf.

10_A Taliban wife takes off her burqa when she returns home. She mentioned that her husband is working in a city far from their village after serving the group for many years before they regained power. Although she is not educated, she is attending madrasa classes to learn how to read and write. In the three years since the Taliban took power, there has been a significant rise in early marriages among Afghan girls. Activists and human rights advocates attribute this trend to parents' belief that securing a spouse for their daughters is preferable to the risk of them being forced into marriage with members of the Taliban. Arranging marriages for their daughters also offers a sense of security: it reduces the number of mouths to feed at a time when Afghan girls are barred from attending school and face harassment amid the country's humanitarian crisis and economic collapse.

11_ At Band-e-Amir National Park in Bamiyan province, which attracts thousands of families each year with its stunning crystal-blue lakes and soaring cliffs, the park has become one of Afghanistan's most popular natural attractions. However, in August 2023, the Taliban government implemented a ban on women visiting the park, which is seen as part of their ongoing strategy to exclude Afghan women from public life. The mountains in the area vaguely resemble Afghan women clad in burqas. The Taliban have also mandated that Afghan women wear what they refer to as the "sharia hijab" in public, requiring them to cover their faces entirely or to only expose their eyes. Enforcement of this dress code is conducted by the group’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

12_Children play in Babur Garden, a park that covers over a thousand square meters and stands as an iconic landmark in Kabul. Since the Taliban regained power, women have been excluded from public gardens, leading to a significant loss of one of Babur Garden's essential values as a social space for all the people of Afghanistan. Men are allowed to take their children to parks and gardens, and young girls are generally permitted to accompany their fathers while they are still very small.

13_Young girls are studying in a school for street children that was established by a female activist in Kabul. Nearly half of the Afghan population (46%) lives below the poverty line. According to U.N. statistics, Afghanistan is the second poorest country in the world. Children's access to essential services has been significantly hampered by prolonged conflict, displacement, extreme poverty, food insecurity, limited livelihood opportunities, a lack of investment in public services, and natural disasters. These factors have increased their vulnerability to serious violations, including recruitment and exploitation, sexual violence, school dropout, and unsafe migration, such as forced returns from Pakistan. The ongoing suspension of girls' secondary and tertiary education has infringed upon their right to education, exposing them to greater risks and harmful coping strategies.

14_Young women attend a secret sewing class in Kabul. Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, the rights to work and education have been stripped from women and girls. The vocational training program, aimed at teaching tailoring skills to women and girls who have been denied education and employment, was initiated by a female activist who lost her job at a medical university when the Taliban took control again. With the closure of educational institutions, girls have lost all hope. Thus, the establishment of this workshop serves not only to keep women occupied but also to provide an opportunity for other girls to step out of their homes and participate in activities.

15_In a secret workshop in Kabul, women are attending make-up classes. In 2023, the Taliban announced that all beauty salons in Afghanistan must close, citing that these establishments provided services that are prohibited by Islam and contributed to economic difficulties for the families of grooms during wedding celebrations. The Taliban has restricted women’s employment and access to public places like parks and gyms, and has imposed strict limitations on media freedoms. As a result, millions of high school girls remain out of school, and universities have been deemed off-limits for female students. The women attending this workshop do so with the hope that one day it will be possible to work publicly in this sector again, or to start secret beauty businesses. Some younger participants have even opted to create new clandestine establishments of their own.

16_ A group of women is entering the shrine of Abu Fazl, which is possibly Kabul's most renowned Shia shrine, with its minaret being one of the city's best-known landmarks. Taliban leaders in Afghanistan have imposed new restrictions on women, prohibiting them from singing, reciting poetry, or speaking out in public, and requiring them to keep their faces and bodies covered at all times. This decree significantly curtails personal freedoms and religious practices, affecting various aspects of daily life including transportation, music, grooming, celebrations, and the behavior and appearance of women in public.

17_A group of women works in a traditional pastry laboratory in Kabul. The owner, a woman, shared that she had 25 female employees when she first started the business. However, after the Taliban regained power and the economy began to decline, she had to send half of them home because she could no longer afford their salaries. She invested all her savings into this venture and, at one point, had men working there to help with making and decorating special occasion cakes. Unfortunately, with the new Taliban rules prohibiting men and women from working together in the same space, she was unable to continue this arrangement, as she did not have the funds to open a separate workspace exclusively for male workers.

18_Men gather around a drifting show in Kabul, organized on a Friday. After decades of conflict, motorists are seizing the opportunity provided by newfound security to compete in races with their modified cars and showcase their drifting skills. These street gatherings and events are exclusively for men, and the Taliban does not prohibit these activities for them. While Afghanistan’s outdoor recreation scene is largely underdeveloped, many Afghan people still enjoy spending time in nature. Before the Taliban's takeover, a small but growing number of Afghans—including women—were participating in outdoor sports such as cycling, skiing, and even rock climbing. The ban on outdoor recreation has raised concerns among some groups about an increasing mental health crisis in the country. Even prior to the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan consistently ranked as the worst country for women and the most unhappy nation in the world, largely due to widespread poverty and insecurity.

19_Mannequins in a market in Kabul are having their faces covered with plastic bags. The Taliban's campaign to limit women's rights in Afghanistan started with acts of vandalism against storefronts that displayed images of women. Recently, they have intensified their actions by targeting mannequins, an object that may seem harmless at first glance. In August 2021, the Taliban declared that shopkeepers were required to either remove the heads from their mannequins or eliminate them entirely. However, many shop owners appealed to the Taliban, requesting permission to keep their mannequins whole. The Taliban ultimately agreed, but imposed a strict condition: all mannequins must have their faces covered.This stance stems from the Taliban's belief that representations of the human figure, such as statues and images, are prohibited according to their severe interpretation of Islamic law.

20_The Taliban flag flutters at Band-e-Amir National Park in Bamiyan province, where thousands of families flock each year to enjoy the crystal-blue lakes and towering cliffs, making it one of the most popular national parks in Afghanistan. However, in August 2023, the Taliban government banned women from visiting the park. This ban is viewed as part of their ongoing efforts to exclude Afghan women from public life. Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban has prohibited women from education and most forms of employment while imposing strict restrictions on their freedom of movement and appearance. The ban was implemented shortly after Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, the Taliban's minister for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice, stated that women visiting Band-e-Amir were not properly wearing the mandatory hijab, or Islamic headscarf.