Divorce, smartphones and control - BBC sees how Taliban run Afghanistan
The BBC provides a rare look into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, highlighting the restrictive lives of women and the regime's hard-line interpretation of Sharia law. The report features an interview with a young woman seeking a divorce, contrasting her struggle for agency with the dismissive attitudes of Taliban officials.
Why it matters
It offers critical, firsthand documentation of the human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, illustrating the ongoing suppression of women's rights.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Kawoon Khamoosh BBC World Service, Sheberghan, Kabul and Kandahar Watch: Eighteen-year-old woman argues her case for a divorce, saying her "honour and dignity have already been ruined" Governor Abdullah Sarhadi gives money to treat a boy's broken arm and hands out funds for a local mosque - then, in his office in northern Afghanistan, an astonishing exchange unfolds.
A young woman tells the grey-bearded former Taliban commander that she wants to divorce her husband, who she accuses of months of abuse and beatings.
In a country where girls are banned from secondary education, the 18-year-old argues her case calmly and confidently, her face completely hidden behind a full-face veil and sunglasses.
"If there was any chance to live together, I wouldn't be here… I have taken my decision," she says.
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