The World Forgot About Afghanistan
From 2001 to 2021, the United States and its allies claimed they had critical national security interests in Afghanistan. The U.S. spent 2.312 trillion dollars in Afghanistan to prevent a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan 2,400 U.S. soldiers died in Afghanistan and over 20,000 were wounded. Despite the vast effort exerted to defeat the Taliban, the Taliban gained control of the country only weeks after U.S. forces withdrew in the summer of 2021. Humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover have rapidly declined. Despite once being considered a vital national security interest, almost two years after the Taliban has taken control, the U.S. and its partners have largely forgotten about Afghanistan.
One of the most glaring examples of ongoing human rights abuses in Afghanistan is the Taliban’s treatment of women. Women are banned from secondary and higher education. The Taliban has also prohibited women from leaving their house without male supervision and from participating in the workforce. Women are not allowed to enter public places such as parks, gyms, and baths. They are required to adhere to strict dress codes. While the Taliban claim that these restrictions on women’s freedom are “temporary,” they have made no efforts to lift these restrictions.
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has also left the country in the world’s “largest humanitarian crisis.” Afghan citizens are facing poverty and starvation. Afghanistan’s GDP declined by 35% and unemployment rose 40% since the Taliban takeover. Food prices have risen. On average, Afghan citizens now spend 75% of their income on food. Around 9 million people in Afghanistan are at risk for famine this year, almost 23% of the country’s population. Moreover, the Taliban have begun a reign of terror on possible opposition.
They are engaging in targeted killings of ethnic minorities, primarily the Hazara people. They are also targeting members of the former Afghan National Security Forces and partners of the U.S.
Although conditions in Afghanistan are at their worst this century, the international community seems to have forgotten about the country. The World Food Program, which has been attempting to combat the famine in Afghanistan is $800 million short on funding for the region. This funding gap forced them to cut food donations to 4 million Afghans. While the U.S. delivered around $1.1 billion in aid to Afghanistan following its withdrawal, this amount pales in comparison to the average of $110 billion a year the U.S. spent in Afghanistan from 2001–2021. The United Nations has threatened to pull out of Afghanistan over concerns that the Taliban is prohibiting women from working for the UN.
While the international community and the American public have largely forgotten about the Afghanistan war, conditions on the ground in Afghanistan grow worse every month. The United States’ decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan does not mean the humanitarian crises in Afghanistan should be overlooked. The international community must increase its assistance to Afghanistan, even though the United States is no longer fighting a war there.
