Taliban prepares to celebrate 24th of Asad (August 15) amid poverty, censorship, and repression.
Four years after the Taliban returned to power, the group’s Ministry of Information and Culture has announced that preparations are underway to hold grand ceremonies for 24th of Asad across the country;
A day that the Taliban call a “victory,” but for millions of Afghan citizens, it marks the beginning of a period of unprecedented repression, poverty, and restrictions.
The Taliban have asked media outlets and journalists to promote the group’s four-year “achievements” in special programs;
A request that many believe is part of the Taliban’s propaganda machine to hide the harsh realities and silence dissent.
24 Asad 1400 (2021 August 15 ) was not only the end of the republic, but also the beginning of the exclusion of women from the public sphere, the closure of schools and universities to girls, unprecedented restrictions on freedom of expression, individual liberties, and the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of citizens; a path that analysts say has led Afghanistan to global isolation.
