Kabul, (AFP) - The Taliban declared Monday a public holiday to mark the first anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan, a year that has seen a sharp decline in women's rights and a deepening humanitarian crisis.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, after the hasty withdrawal of foreign forces led by the United States. Although violence has decreased significantly since then, the humanitarian crisis in the country has grown rapidly.

"We have fulfilled the duty of jihad and liberated our country," said Nematollah Hekmat, a Taliban fighter who entered Kabul that day, just hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

The chaotic withdrawal of foreign forces continued until August 31, and tens of thousands of civilians were seen rushing in panic to the capital's only airport in order to fly out of the country on whatever plane was available.

With the exception of Monday, which was declared a holiday, no official celebration has been announced so far to commemorate the anniversary, but state television indicated that it will broadcast special programmes, without giving further details.

A year later, Taliban fighters are glad to see their movement wield power, while humanitarian agencies worry to see half the country's 38 million people facing grinding poverty.

"When we entered Kabul, and when the Americans left, there were moments of joy," added Nematullah Hikmat, a member of the Special Forces tasked with guarding the presidential palace.

But for ordinary Afghans, especially women, the return of the Taliban has only added to the difficulties.

Very quickly and despite the promises they made at first, the country's new rulers re-imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, which severely restricted women's rights.

They largely excluded women from government jobs, restricted their right to travel alone outside the cities in which they lived, and prevented girls from attending middle and high school.

In early May, the Afghan Supreme Leader, Hebatullah Akhundzada, ordered women to wear full-face veils in public.

The Taliban have made it clear that they would prefer women to wear the burqa, but would tolerate other forms of veiling that reveal only the eyes.

On Saturday, Taliban gunmen violently dispersed, with rifle butts and bullets, a demonstration organized by about 40 women to demand the right to work and education.

And while Afghans are witnessing a decline in violence with the end of the war since the Taliban came to power, many of them are suffering severely from an acute economic and humanitarian crisis.

"People who come to our shops often complain about the high prices, to the point that we shopkeepers start to hate what we do," said Nur Muhammad, a shopkeeper from Kandahar, in the south of the country, the historical cradle and center of Taliban power.

But for the Islamist fighters, the joy of victory overshadows the current economic crisis.
One of these fighters says, "We may be poor, and we may face difficulties, but the white flag of Islam will fly high forever in Afghanistan."