In the provinces, they are already showing the right face. A young Afghan woman talks about how her life has changed under the Taliban – Diary N

She is 27 years old, married and has a small seven-month-old son with her husband. Let’s call her Samira – she didn’t want to publish her real name for fear of her family’s safety. She also doesn’t want us to write where she and her husband worked so they can’t identify them.

She says that she lived a contented life until the Taliban occupied Kabul.

“I had a good job and a life. I was happy and energetic, I managed to manage my job and caring for my family, “says Samira, who worked for an NGO.

However, since the Taliban took over the country, its life has changed completely. “I became an addict from an independent woman. From a happy woman, I became a woman in depression and without hope, “he says.

She claims that she cannot walk on the street alone. “I feel like I’m in a cage here. If I want to go out, an adult man from the family – the mahram – must go with me. So I’m mostly home, “he says.

Even worse in the province

Samira lives in Kabul, where the media is, so she says the Taliban are wary. “In the provinces, however, the movement is already showing its true face,” he added.

He speaks as an example of the province of Badakhshan, where her sister still lives. He knows firsthand how the Taliban treats women in more remote parts of Afghanistan, where there are few foreigners.

“In the province of women