Afghan women tell the BBC their lives are "unrecognisable" after five years of Taliban rule

Five years after the Taliban returned to power, Afghan women told the BBC their daily lives have become unrecognisable, describing public punishments, lost jobs and barriers to health care. The accounts were gathered from women across the country as the anniversary of the takeover passed.

The testimony matters because it puts individual voices behind the policy picture, showing how restrictions on work, movement and medical care compound into risks for whole families. According to the reporting, women describe curbs on their safety and livelihoods that leave few options.

What to watch now is whether international attention on the anniversary brings any easing of restrictions, and how aid groups keep reaching women and girls as the constraints persist.