Taliban surface control masks rule by fear: unreversed bans on women and girls (2.2 million out of secondary school), public floggings, and arbitrary detention enforce obedience rather than legitimacy.

Most resistance is quiet and civilian—home schooling, online lessons, informal support for women—keeping skills and expectations alive despite the danger of open protest.

Armed opposition persists but cannot topple the regime; the real vulnerability is lost consent, so external policy must condition engagement and any alternative must be democratic.

From Kabul, the Taliban’s grip looks absolute.  Its checkpoints remain, its officials occupy every ministry, and no opponent holds a major city. Surface calm tells only part of the story. 

For Afghans, oppression is not a theory. It is the empty desk of a girl, the job a woman can no longer reach, or the journey she cannot make without a male relative. UNESCO estimates that 2.2 million adolescent girls are barred from secondary education. UN Women says none of the decrees restricting women and girls has been reversed. A UNAMA examination of the morality law shows how rules governing dress, movement and behaviour reach into daily life. The aim is to make people police themselves until fear becomes habit.

Rule by Fear Has a Price

Punishment reveals the system more clearly than speeches. A flogging before a crowd is theatre as much as penalty: one person is beaten........

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