Taliban celebrate two years in power in Afghanistan

The Taliban government of Afghanistan commemorated this Tuesday the second anniversary of its return to power with several celebrations and a statement that praises its return to the front of the country after defeating the United States in a 20-year war, amid renewed allegations of violations to women's rights in what the UN denounced as "gender apartheid".

"The conquest of Kabul once again demonstrated that no one can control the proud nation of Afghanistan" and that "no invader will be allowed to threaten the independence and freedom" of the country, Afghan authorities said in a statement.

Flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban name for the country, flew at checkpoints in the capital Kabul. The streets of the city were quiet on this national holiday declared by the Taliban, the AFP news agency reported.

The radical Islamist movement the Taliban seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, capping off a lightning offensive coinciding with the withdrawal of US-led international forces after 20 years of war against insurgents.

The seizure of Kabul caused the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the flight of its authorities into exile, 20 years after the US-led coalition toppled the Taliban after a first run from power between 1996 and 2001.

Despite promising freedoms, the Taliban once again applied a strict interpretation of Islam that particularly affects women, who, deprived of basic rights, now live in what the United Nations calls "gender apartheid."