Taliban rule five years on: security gains, opium crackdown, but poverty and women's rights eroded

Five years after the Taliban's takeover, active conflict has ended and a drug war has sharply reduced opium cultivation, but Afghanistan faces mass poverty, unemployment, and systematic curtailment of women's rights. The regime has also attempted to block internet access and restrict official smartphone use, signaling continued authoritarian control. The report underscores a trade-off between security and severe socio-economic and human-rights regression, with long-term stability uncertain.