Life on the Run: Stories of Afghans Targeted by the Taliban

For many Afghans, escaping the Taliban's grip has become a desperate quest for survival. Four years since the extremist Islamic group seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the nation faces a severe human rights crisis and systematic suppression of freedoms. The once vibrant independent media has been silenced, employment opportunities reduced, girls' education has been banned, and women have been virtually erased from all public life.

This reporting project highlights the harrowing experiences of four people—a video journalist, a human rights activist, and two women's rights activists—who faced detention, torture, and death threats for their work and dissent.

These accounts are not isolated. They expose the Taliban's deliberate targeting, arbitrary arrests, detention, and extrajudicial killings of former officials, military personnel, journalists, and activists, corroborated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Human Rights Watch reports. Despite international investigations, the Taliban claim "general amnesty" and denies the torture allegations.

These stories expose the Taliban's brutal tactics in the absence of accountability, underscoring the immense risks for those in Afghanistan and the tragic reality of forced displacement for those who escape.