A year after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, divisions within the militant movement began to arise, especially over the opportunities available to its leaders for reform.
The movement’s victory over the previous foreign-backed government ended the fighting, bringing widespread relief to Afghans, especially those living in rural areas who had suffered two decades of brutal conflict.
But the financial, economic and humanitarian crises facing Afghanistan have only worsened.
“We have one camp that is pushing what they see as reforms and another camp that seems to think that even these meager reforms are exaggerated,” said Ibrahim Bukhais, an Afghanistan analyst with the International Crisis Group.
While some Taliban leaders argue that the movement will rule differently this time around, many observers believe the change remains superficial.
Officials in Kabul adopted the use of technology and public relations as cricket matches were played in stadiums full of fans and Afghans still have access to the internet and social media.
Girls are now allowed to attend elementary schools and women journalists are allowed to interview government officials, which was unimaginable during their first rule in the 1990s.
But many analysts express concern that all this is a “formality”.
Many women’s high schools remain closed and women are excluded from public service.
Simple activities like listening to music, smoking hookah and playing cards are tightly controlled in conservative neighborhoods, while protests are crushed and journalists are regularly threatened or arrested.
Taliban leader Hebatullah Akhundzada surprised the world when he intervened at the last minute and canceled the Ministry of Education’s reopening of high schools for girls.
Some analysts believe that he wanted in this way not to appear accommodating to the demands of the West.
