Twelve Afghan women and girls have documented their daily lives for the Guardian, describing fear, lost education, restricted work and the effort to preserve their livelihoods under Taliban rule. The participants, whose identities are sometimes concealed, shared their accounts at great risk to their safety.
Their stories range from a former soldier in Herat who keeps bags packed in case her family must flee to a 12-year-old blogger who is preparing for her final permitted school exams. Together, the accounts show how political restrictions and fear shape ordinary routines across Afghanistan.
Work continues under pressure
Several women describe work as both a source of income and a way to retain independence. In Kabul, Fatema and her sister Marzia run a home bakery, waking at 4am and working until 7pm. Their income supports two families, but rising fuel costs and the physical strain of the oven have made the work harder.
In Jawzjan, Leilma works as a hotel waitress and cleaner for 200 afghanis a day while also making raw bricks to help build another room for her family. A tailor who survived polio earns between 6,000 and 7,000 afghanis a month when she has many orders, and a prosthetist in Faryab makes assistive devices for women and children with disabilities.
Related coverage: 231 Afghan women killed in cases marked by alleged impunity.
Education and professional ambitions cut short
The accounts repeatedly connect restrictions on women’s education with abandoned or altered ambitions. A 24-year-old computer science student in Nangarhar says she was left unable to continue after universities were closed to women. Her family considered leaving Afghanistan, but her younger brother’s physical disability prevented them from going.
A teacher in Day Kundi has worked at a girls’ school for 18 years, but says pupils can no longer study beyond sixth grade. In Jawzjan, a dental assistant who once hoped to become a brain surgeon now works in a private clinic after finding an online course in dental prosthetics. Her workplace is inspected by officials who ask about her male guardian.
Fear reaches into homes and public spaces
A former soldier in Herat says the Taliban demanded that she and her female colleagues surrender their uniforms within days of taking the city. She and her husband, both members of the previous government’s forces, have received death threats and have been questioned about Taliban fighters they may have killed. She says two female colleagues were arrested and their fate remains unknown.
An undercover journalist in a northern province hides her laptop under a mattress when someone knocks at the gate, after two house searches. She delayed publishing an interview because she feared security cameras could expose her movements and identify either her or the woman she interviewed.
The 12-year-old blogger records videos about life, poetry and girls’ interrupted education, but worries that relatives’ criticism or the disclosure of her identity could put her at risk. An aspiring novelist in Balkh describes writing as a way to preserve memories, dreams and voices that might otherwise be lost.
What the testimonies document
The Guardian says the project covers the five years since the Taliban’s return to power. The women’s accounts do not describe a single experience: some continue teaching, reporting, tailoring, baking or providing medical support, while others remain at home after education or employment opportunities disappeared.
Across the testimonies, daily tasks—collecting water, preparing food, travelling to work, studying online or caring for children—are closely tied to safety and access. The participants’ decision to speak under real names, aliases or no disclosed location reflects the risks described in their accounts.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.