Herat After the Fall: A City Transformed by Repression

Kokcha News Agency reports:
In the historic alleys of Herat, the echoes of August 2021 linger, when the Taliban’s return erased decades of progress. Ahmed, a 27-year-old engineering graduate, recalls, “Everything collapsed that day—not just the city’s walls, but our hopes.” Today, Taliban-enforced restrictions on education, work, and movement have reshaped daily life.

Education & Gender Crisis:

• Girls above sixth grade are banned from schools; universities exclude women. Zainab, 24, once aspiring to be a doctor, now sews at home: “My mother cried from joy when I enrolled. Now she cries from despair.”
• Men face unemployment and censorship. A former professor laments, “Academic freedom is dead. Our passports gather dust.”

Economic Ruin:

• Herat’s trade with Iran and Turkmenistan has collapsed. Carpet exporter Haji Abdul Khaliq states, “Exports are near zero. Sanctions killed trust.”
• Women-led businesses, like Mariam’s café, were shuttered for “violating Sharia.”

Security & Suppression:

• Surveillance cameras and armed Taliban patrols dominate. Activist Faeza describes dispersed protests: “They took our phones, arrested some. Silence means surrender.”
• UN reports highlight Herat as a hotspot for arbitrary detentions targeting women.

Lost Generations:

• Youth like Ahmed, now a carpenter, embody broken dreams: “We’re a generation buried alive with our ambitions.”

— Kokcha News Agency