Taliban firmly in control in Afghanistan 25 years after U.S.-led invasion to oust them

KABUL, Afghanistan — Dr. Nigar Nangrahari was on a night shift in a Kabul hospital when the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began 25 years ago — an event that would shape her and her country’s future for decades to come.

As she walked home the next morning, Nangrahari saw Kabul residents taking revenge on members of the Taliban, whose harsh, repressive rule had seen public stonings, limb amputations of alleged criminals and women obliterated from public life.

“Along the way, I saw ordinary people killing anyone they caught who was a Taliban member. I witnessed with my own eyes the people of Kabul capturing and killing Taliban fighters. Some had climbed trees to hide,” she said.

Afraid of what was to come, Nangrahari and her family stayed home for about a month. Eventually, she was called back to the hospital and returned to work as an obstetrician-gynecologist. She no longer had to wear a burqa in the street.

“They granted us freedom — but not the kind that Afghans could truly benefit from,” said Nangrahari, 58.

Afghanistan is a deeply conservative Muslim society, and the U.S. culture that came with the American presence in the country often rankled some segments…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world