Taliban Marks Fourth Anniversary of Power Grab Amidst Women’s Protests and Global Condemnation

Kabul witnessed male-only celebrations on Friday, August 15, 2025, as the Taliban commemorated the fourth anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan. Thousands of men gathered across the capital to observe flowers being scattered from helicopters, an event from which women were explicitly barred, highlighting the stark gender segregation under the regime.

Three of the six ‘flower shower’ locations were already inaccessible to women, who have been prohibited from parks and recreational areas since November 2022. The anniversary program, which included speeches from cabinet members, was exclusively for men, with an anticipated outdoor sports performance for Afghan athletes ultimately cancelled.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, following the withdrawal of US and Nato forces. Since then, they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law, enacting sweeping restrictions on women and girls, based on edicts from their leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. These include barring women from many jobs, education beyond sixth grade, and most public spaces.

In defiance, members of the United Afghan Women’s Movement for Freedom staged an indoor protest in the north-eastern Takhar province on Friday, declaring the day “an open wound of history.” A similar indoor protest took place in Islamabad, Pakistan, where Afghan women displayed signs condemning the Taliban and marking August 15th as a “dark day.”

Earlier, Taliban leader Akhundzada, rarely seen in public, issued a statement warning of severe divine punishment for Afghans ungrateful for Islamic rule, asserting that Sharia law had saved people from various societal ills. These comments come as the International Criminal Court (ICC) recently issued arrest warrants for Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls, citing policies that deprive them of education, privacy, and fundamental freedoms.

This year’s anniversary celebrations were notably more subdued than last year’s military parade. Afghanistan continues to grapple with a severe humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by climate change, the expulsion of millions of Afghans from neighboring countries, and a sharp decline in international donor funding.

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