Opinion: What’s next for Afghanistan?

Kambaiz Rafi - From the Taliban to Women's rights, political economy researcher Kambaiz Rafi (UCL Bartlett Development Planning Unit) and US foreign policy professor Scott Lucas (University of Birmingham) discuss what the future holds for Afghanistan. In late August 2021, the US completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, ending a 20-year occupation. The Taliban retook the country with shocking speed. The Islamic fundamentalist political group was founded in 1994 and controlled most of Afghanistan until the US-led campaign ousted it in 2001 . Now it faces the challenge of forming a new government. Despite pledges to uphold human rights, Taliban forces are reported to have broken many promises. Women after a certain age are being excluded from school and public life and the United Nations has received allegations of reprisal killings.