Holding the Taliban Accountable

August 15 marks the second anniversary of the U.S. military’s hasty exit from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s usurp of power. Since then, the Taliban has chiseled away the basic rights of women and girls in a multitude of ways, from denying them access to education to banning them from public parks. 

The Taliban’s latest crackdown on women’s freedom came on June 24 when all beauty salons were ordered to shut down. The situation in Afghanistan right now, according to Human Rights Watch, is “the most serious women’s rights crisis in the world. [Any] assessment of the international approach to the crisis in Afghanistan should prioritize human rights, especially the rights of women and girls.”