On August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, marking the collapse of the Afghan government and the end of a 20-year international military presence. For Salma, a young Afghan woman, the day began with disbelief. Two days after her engagement party, she woke to the news that the Taliban were at the gates. “I woke up and I imagined so many things, but not that the Taliban would be outside,” she recalled in an interview.
The fall of Kabul triggered a chaotic evacuation, with thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals rushing to the airport. The United States and its allies airlifted over 120,000 people in the following weeks, but many Afghans, especially those who had worked with Western forces, were left behind. Salma and her family were among those who stayed, facing an uncertain future under the new regime.
Five years later, Afghanistan remains under Taliban rule. The international community has not formally recognized the government, and the country faces a severe humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations, millions of Afghans are in need of assistance, and women’s rights have been sharply curtailed, with restrictions on education and employment.
Salma’s story is a personal lens on a national tragedy. She now lives in Kabul, navigating a life that has changed beyond recognition. “Everything she carries” includes the memories of a different time, the loss of freedoms, and the resilience to continue. Her engagement, once a celebration of a future, now symbolizes a past that seems distant.
