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Who are the Taliban?
Written and Researched By: Tal Mukhopadhyay
Published By: Meredith Yuen
Published: 24th November 2025
Everyone has heard of the Taliban—but what’s their history within Afghanistan? And why did America get involved?
The Taliban are a group of strict Islamists of the Sunni sect, whose members currently form the government of Afghanistan. They govern on the basis of Sharia law, which has prompted concern from the international community due to numerous human rights violations.
The early Taliban group emerged in Pakistan after Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in the early 1990s. The name ‘Taliban’ literally translates to ‘students,’ as the group stemmed from madrassas (religious schools) in Pakistan. They initially existed mostly in the Pashtun areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan and were funded by Saudi Arabia. From their strongholds in southwest Afghanistan, they extended their influence and eventually captured the province of Herat in September 1995. In September 1996, they captured Kabul (the capital) and overthrew President Burhanuddin Rabbani—one of the key figures who resisted Soviet occupation. By 1998, the Taliban had occupied 90% of Afghanistan. (BBC, 2022)
Pashtun areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan. National Geographic Society. (2017, October 19). Border Wall Controversy ... in Central Asia. National Geographic. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2017/10/19/border-wall-controversy-in-central-asia/
American presence in Afghanistan began following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Taliban were accused of providing shelter for the leaders of al-Qaeda, the group that (at the time) allegedly carried out the 9/11 attacks (only claiming responsibility in 2004). As a response, US forces invaded Afghanistan on the 7th of October 2001. The Taliban regime subsequently fell in early December. However, American military presence remained in Afghanistan until 2021, when the newly elected President Biden decided to withdraw all troops from the country despite concerns about the Taliban’s growing influence. (BBC, 2022)
In reality, the Taliban had maintained influence throughout the period of American presence. They gradually rebuilt themselves, then extended control over the two decades. In 2015, they seized the strategically placed city of Kunduz, taking them only 10 days to regain control over the country after US forces left in 2021. Since then, no country has recognized them as Afghanistan’s legitimate government. Despite this, they remain firmly in power and strictly implement Sharia law across the country, resulting in growing international concerns about the treatment of certain demographics. (BBC, 2022)
Taliban-controlled areas in 2021. BBC. (2021, August 16). Mapping the advance of the Taliban in Afghanistan. BBC News. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-57933979
The Taliban rule Afghanistan with an iron fist; however, it has been noted by the European Union Agency for Asylum that their instructions are often vague and enforcement of their laws is inconsistent. (European Union Agency for Asylum, 2024) They believe in a one-party system of government and therefore have imposed a serious crackdown on political opposition. In addition, the rights and freedoms of women and girls have been severely restricted. As of November 2024, women are forbidden from raising their voices in public, a move that was widely criticized around the world as a literal silencing of the female voice. (Limaye et al., 2024) Women are also not allowed to travel certain distances without a male chaperone and, as of 2025, cannot pursue education above the primary school level. (Azoulay, 2025) The Taliban rejects criticism of their rules, claiming that preserving “dignity, honor, and Sharia-based entitlements of women” is a high priority for them. As a result of Taliban rule, 60,000 asylum applications were submitted to the EU from Afghanistan between January and August 2024. (European Union Agency for Asylum, 2024)
Glossary:
Sunni sect: a religious denomination of Islam
Sharia law: the laws that dictate a Muslim’s life as written in the Quran.
9/11 terrorist attacks: a series of attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked on their way to the United States. Two were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, and one into the Pentagon (National Defense Headquarters) in Washington, DC. Passengers on the fourth plane fought against the hijackers, and it crashed in Pennsylvania.
References
Azoulay, A. (2025, August 13). Afghanistan: Four years on, 2.2 million girls are still banned from. UNESCO. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/afghanistan-four-years-22-million-girls-still-banned-school
BBC. (2022, August 12). Who are the Taliban? BBC. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11451718
European Union Agency for Asylum. (2024, November 11). Afghanistan: An update on the Taliban's new “morality law.” European Union Agency for Asylum. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://euaa.europa.eu/news-events/afghanistan-update-talibans-new-morality-law
Limaye, Y., Anderson, I., & Ganguly, S. (2024, September 11). The Taliban ban Afghan women from raising voices. BBC. Retrieved November 13, 2025, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20rq73p3z4o
