Very Sad
KABUL -- Female staff gathered at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Kabul cried out as the radio crackled to deliver the news they had been dreading: the Taliban have arrived at Afghanistan's capital.
The workers, gathered for a security briefing on Sunday on the country's escalating crisis, hugged each other in fear of the oppression they think the Islamist militant group will bring on its return to power.
"It's over!" several wailed, in a sign of the panic triggered after the end of the two decade long US-led military occupation of the Asian country opened the doors to the Taliban again.
The movement's return has chilled Afghans who think they will be targeted by its harsh brand of Islamic law. Female rights campaigners see women and girls as among those who have most to lose, despite the Taliban's insistence to the contrary.
"We are worried about women's rights because we already have experienced what the Taliban have done in the past," said one ministry staff member. "We have done a lot for Afghan women during these past 20 years. We don't want to lose our rights -- and we want to continue working."
The anxiety formed part of a bigger chill enveloping the Afghan capital as the Taliban swept back in triumph on Sunday. Some residents are horrified by the second coming of a group forced from power in 2001 by the western military invasion launched in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"The situation is very bad here," said Mohammed, a 27-year-old Kabulite. "We don't know what our lives will be. It feels as if no one cares. We have been left alone by the Americans and now the Taliban have come in our city."
Kabul residents struggled to keep pace with the weekend's extraordinary events as the Taliban advanced with staggering speed. Fighters first encircled the capital and then began arriving inside the city.
