Afghanistan marks 25 years since U.S.-led invasion toppled Taliban
· World · The Independent
Dr. Nigar Nangrahari was on a night shift in a Kabul hospital when the U.S.-led invasion began 25 years ago, triggering immediate revenge killings of Taliban members by residents as she walked home the following morning. The operation, launched under President George W. Bush to dismantle al-Qaida and remove Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan, initiated a 20-year war that cost tens of thousands of Afghan lives along with thousands of coalition service members, contractors, aid workers and journalists. While the U.S. presence brought certain freedoms — particularly for media and in women's education and employment — Afghans remained subjected to deeply conservative social constraints, with Nangrahari noting the new freedom fell short of what the population could truly benefit from. The legacy of the war and successive U.S.-supported Afghan governments endures, though former doctor and political analyst Muin Gul Chamkanai asserted the reality proved the exact opposite of the stated goals of
Why it matters
Afghan civilians, particularly women and media professionals, continue to navigate the lasting consequences of the invasion two decades after the formal withdrawal, facing persistent social constraints despite the removal of Taliban-era restrictions such as the mandatory burqa.
Read the original report — The Independent
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