Five years after the Taliban entered Kabul on August 15, 2021, marking the abrupt and humiliating end of two decades of Western intervention in Afghanistan, the country has largely disappeared from the world's screens. The iconic images of families at the gates of Kabul airport, of people running across the runway and clinging to planes, became a symbol of the collapse of a political project. The West's responsibility did not end when the last troops left, the author of the article argues.
The consequences of the withdrawal have been particularly profound for millions of Afghans, especially women and girls. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are excluded from secondary and higher education, with UNESCO estimating that 2.4 million girls are currently prevented from studying. Women have been progressively excluded from employment and public life, subject to severe restrictions on mobility and any form of expression. The UN Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan concluded that the imposed system amounts to the crime against humanity of gender persecution.
The United States spent approximately $2.3 trillion on its 20-year war, but the government and security forces they supported collapsed rapidly once American and NATO support ended. Before the Taliban's return, foreign aid financed approximately three quarters of Afghanistan's public expenditure, making that sovereignty dependent on foreign institutions, money, and military power. More than 22 million Afghans need humanitarian assistance, including 10.7 million women and girls.
The author argues that isolating Afghanistan is not a solution, proposing engagement without legitimization: maintaining diplomatic channels while refusing to accept repression, supporting humanitarian aid and Afghan civil society, ensuring educational opportunities for girls, and honoring the commitments made to those who trusted Western governments. Afghanistan's future cannot be drawn up only in Washington, Brussels, or London, with regional cooperation with countries such as Iran, Pakistan, and China being indispensable.
