Taliban takeover explained

The Taliban has nearly conquered the whole of Afghanistan.

Two questions many people are asking are: who exactly are the Taliban and how did they become so strong?

They want to fight for a strict Islamic state.

It all started 1979, when the Soviets came to Afghanistan to support their regime. Afghanistan had a communistic government, and the Soviets were scared that the government could be overthrown by the US. The USA didn't accept the decision and wanted to do something to stop it. The US supported the rebels in Afghanistan, known as “MujaHedin,” sending weapons and money to the rebels with the help of the Secret Service of Pakistan.

But after 10 years of an indirect war between the USA and the Soviet Union (Cold War), and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US led a divided country without a common national identity. The then MujaHedin was a strict Islamic group, also called the Kids of the War. Now known as the Taliban, they want to fight for a strict Islamic state.

Photo credit: Tageschau.de

The Taliban had taken many parts of Afghanistan, so the USA started the mission “Enduring Freedom” with the goal of fighting the Taliban and building a democracy in Afghanistan. But after 20 years of war, more than 30 other countries, even Germany, have supported the USA. The USA only damaged the Taliban a little bit.

Trump ordered the US soldiers to leave Afghanistan in 2019, and after the US army pulled out of Afghanistan, the Taliban used its chance to seize the country.

The Taliban aims to develop an Islamic republic and live by Sharia law, where hands get cut off for theft, where women have limited rights, and where LGBTQ people are at risk of losing their life.

Woman rights

The Taliban has ordered that women aren’t allowed to do sports. Women were also pushed out of public life and didn't get paid for their jobs. Women couldn’t go outside without a man.

Mariam Solaimonkhill, a woman who lives in Afghanistan, said in a mrWissen2go video: “No one in the world is talking about women’s rights in Afghanistan. Why is no one questioning these peace talks without women’s rights? Do Afghan women matter?”

The Taliban are an underrated network; they have a lot of force, they are involved in the drug market and have dangerous weapons.

If the Taliban forms a government, they wouldn’t have allies, because of their hardline ruleship. The only support they would get is from other Islamic states, perhaps, and maybe normal relations with Russia or China.

What is happening now?

Much of Afghanistan wants to flee, but many are killed trying. Some have to pay massive taxes to the Taliban if they want to live in Afghanistan. The Taliban has conquered Kabul and has a strict military police with the uniforms, which consist of arms and armor leftover from the Americans. The Taliban only focuses on Afghanistan and doesn't want to attack other countries.