The Taliban claim they will respect women’s rights but evidence suggests otherwise

There are signs of a return to something worryingly close to the hardline restrictions of the past across Afghan life

When Taliban fighters moved into Herat city in western Afghanistan last month, one thing mattered more to some of them than the battle itself. As gunmen faced off around the governor's office, a group of militants came to Shogofa's* workplace and ordered all the women home.

They hadn't even taken all the city, but they came to our headquarters. The manager called an emergency meeting and they told all the women to leave," she said.