Since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan returned to power in 2021 under Taliban leadership, the situation for women in Afghanistan has deteriorated sharply. State-sanctioned discrimination has further eroded the already limited freedoms and autonomy of Afghan women, with new decrees systematically restricting their rights and legitimising increasingly severe forms of oppression.
As rain continued to fall, a mother trudged through the mud carrying her baby son. The playful yellow onesie she had wrapped him up in brought to mind a mix between Pikachu and a cartoon duckling. Her daughter, whose hair was pulled up in a playful top knot, struggled to keep up with the harried mother.