Afghanistan: Taliban celebrate 3 years since takeover with military show
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00:00At Bagram Air Base, once the symbolic seat of U.S. military power in Afghanistan, the
00:07Taliban celebrated three years in power Wednesday, a military parade complete with armored personnel
00:14carriers captured from the former U.S.-backed government, as well as the Taliban's more
00:19traditional conveyances.
00:22This is a big honor for Afghanistan.
00:24Three years ago on this date, Afghanistan was liberated.
00:28This is Freedom Day, and the people will celebrate this day.
00:32For many in the country, though, the Taliban's return has meant anything but freedom.
00:37On August 15, 2021, their fighters rolled into Kabul, as the U.S.-backed government
00:42collapsed after years of corruption, mismanagement and defeat at the hands of a two-decade insurgency.
00:50A chaotic U.S. military withdrawal quickly followed, marked by a suicide bombing at Bagram
00:55Air Base that killed 13 U.S. troops and some 170 Afghans.
01:01The intervening years have been devastating for women's rights especially.
01:06The fundamentalist government has banned girls' education beyond the sixth grade, mandated
01:11the wearing of the burqa in public, and advised women to stay home altogether.
01:16Three years ago, a woman in Afghanistan could technically decide to run for president.
01:24Now she may not even be able to decide when to go and buy groceries.
01:30Meanwhile, the Afghan economy is in crisis, worsened by a ban on most female employment.
01:37Foreign aid accounts for some 30 percent of the country's GDP.
01:41Despite not being officially recognized by any country, the Taliban have scored some
01:45recent diplomatic wins, as Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran have all established de facto
01:52relations in recent months.