Three major international aid groups on Sunday suspended work in Afghanistan following a decision by the country's Taliban rulers to ban women from working at non-governmental organizations.
Early this week, the leaders of Afghanistan declared that women could not attend university. Now there are fears the any education for girls is in jeopardy as some female teachers are sent home.
Teachers report security forces barging into classrooms and shouting at girls to go home, while the international community swiftly condems the Taliban's move.
On Tuesday, the Taliban announced the women could no longer attend university. One educator in Afghanistan called it "gender apartheid." The highest grade girls will be able to attain now is grade 6.
Women are banned from private and public universities until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms.
Those who put their lives on the line in the Afghan National Army and can't find a way out of Afghanistan are working menial jobs, sometimes moving locations every few days in fear for their safety.
A year after the U.S. withdrawal, tens of thousands of applicants remain stuck in the backlog of the Special Immigrant Visa program, designed to help those who served the U.S. overseas.
As the economy unravels, "everyone is getting a bike," says one young resident. It's the cheapest way to get around. But the Taliban's conservative culture means women cyclists are not welcome.
Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned civilian contractor, was abducted in January 2020. His release centered on a prisoner exchange involving Bashir Noorzai, a notorious drug lord and Taliban member.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Wednesday attack that also wounded children, the latest to strike the country in the year since the Taliban seized power.
One year ago, the Taliban raised their white flag over Afghanistan's capital for the second time. NPR toured the country and spoke to the Taliban and residents about what has happened since.
About two dozen women marched in Kabul chanting "bread, work, freedom," "we want political participation" and "no to enslavement," just days before the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover.
Recently retired General Frank McKenzie reflects on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, who bears responsibility for the way it unfolded, and how the U.S. "lost track" of why it was in the country.
On the day a U.S. drone strike killed the leader of al-Qaida in Afghanistan, NPR sat down for an interview with the man in charge of the country's defense.
