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Our community has strong traditions that affect how we experience social change. Things like family roles, education, and customs shape how we live and respond to new situations.

The values we learn from older generations guide how we deal with social issues and adapt to changes.

Afghanistan has seen many conflicts and political changes. These events have a big impact on how we handle social change. Issues like moving from one place to another and rebuilding are important for us.

The history of foreign control and ongoing wars has made our community strong and taught us how to face new challenges.

Afghanistan’s mountains and land shape how we live and use resources. Environmental issues like climate change and natural disasters also affect our daily lives.

How we manage resources and deal with environmental changes influences our community’s way of life and work.

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In Afghanistan, ongoing conflicts make it hard for the economy to grow. This means fewer jobs and difficulties accessing things like education and healthcare, which can slow down social progress.

When many people can't find jobs, it affects their families and can lead to people moving away to find better opportunities. This can create social problems and affect how people experience changes in society.

After conflicts, rebuilding the economy can bring new chances. Projects to repair and develop infrastructure and help from other countries can improve living conditions and create jobs, leading to positive social changes.

When people start their own businesses, it can help the community grow. Local businesses can provide jobs and improve the local economy, leading to better social conditions.

Many people in rural areas depend on farming. Changes in farming methods or better access to markets can improve living standards and lead to positive social changes.

How resources like water and minerals are managed affects the economy. Conflicts over these resources or changes in the environment can impact how people live and adapt to social changes.

The state of the economy affects how well schools and training programs are funded. When the economy is strong, there are often more resources for education, which helps people get better jobs and drive social change.

Investing in learning new skills helps people find jobs in new industries, leading to social progress and economic growth.

The economy also affects social services like healthcare and housing. When the economy is doing well, there is usually more money available for these services, which can improve people's lives and support positive social changes.

Economic stability allows for better healthcare and housing, leading to better living conditions and overall social well-being.

Summary In my community, the economy affects how we experience social change. Economic problems like conflict and high unemployment can slow down progress, while opportunities like rebuilding efforts and new businesses can bring positive changes. Access to resources, education, and social services also play a big role in shaping how we experience social change.

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Long queues have been forming outside banks, which are closed

The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan for the first time in 20 years. But while they no longer have any military opposition, they now face an economy on the brink of collapse, which threatens to worsen an already devastating humanitarian crisis.
When the militant group seized power on 15 August, Afghanistan's internal banking system froze up. Long queues have formed outside banks, many of which are closed, and ATMs that aren't dispensing money. With limited access to cash, people are becoming increasingly desperate.

The economy was already extremely fragile, heavily dependent on aid. A nation is considered aid-dependent when 10% or more of its gross domestic product (GDP) comes from foreign aid; in Afghanistan's case, about 40% of its GDP was international aid, according to the World Bank.

When it became clear that the Taliban would gain control of Kabul, western powers, including the US and Germany, suspended foreign aid to the country. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also since halted payments.

Foreign reserves of Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the central bank, have also been frozen. DAB has reserves of roughly $9bn (£6.5bn), most of which is held in the US.

Ajmal Ahmady, the former governor of DAB, tweeted last week that he fled the country on a US military plane on the day the Taliban seized Kabul.

He said most of the DAB's reserves are held in safe, liquid assets such as US Treasury bonds and gold offshore, as per international standards.

"We can say the accessible funds to the Taliban are perhaps 0.1-0.2% of Afghanistan's total international reserves," he added. "Not much."

And last week, a Biden administration official confirmed to the BBC: "Any central bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban."

While the economy is at a standstill, the country is facing an exodus of people, with crowds rushing to the airport to try and escape Taliban rule. One money changer in Kabul told the Wall Street Journal that some landlords are even asking their tenants to stay in their properties for free, "because they fear that the Taliban may just take a house if it's empty".

In a recent article in the Financial Times, Mr Ahmady wrote that claims the Taliban could get sufficient revenue from illegal mining, opium production or trade routes were "over-optimistic".

"Taliban revenues from such sources could be considered relatively large when only running an insurgency campaign," he said. "They are wholly inadequate to operate a functional government."

On top of foreign aid, another 4% of Afghanistan's GDP was made up of remittances, according to the World Bank - that is, family members living outside the country sending money home from abroad. This meant that it was one of the countries most dependent on remittances in the world.

Western Union and MoneyGram also stopped transferring money to Afghanistan

But in response to the Taliban's take-over and western countries halting foreign aid shipments, international transfer companies Western Union and MoneyGram suspended their services in Afghanistan - effectively cutting off the supply of family money from abroad, too.

Announcing its decision last week, Western Union said in a statement that it knew the suspension would have a huge impact on Afghans.

"We recognise that our services provide a vital channel for our customers to support their loved ones, and we will continue to closely monitor this rapidly developing situation and keep our customers and associates apprised of any developments," it said.

As a result, there is no hard currency for civilians to access - the banks are almost all closed, and people are unable to withdraw dollars.

Because of the volatile political situation the local currency, the afghani - which was already low in value - is now worth even less.

People have been sharing their experiences anonymously on the @HearAfghanWomen Twitter account.

In one tweet, a woman writes: "Gas is too expensive, all banks closed, other foodstuff shortage in Kabul stores, can't find mobile top-up - and also afraid for our lives."

In another, the account says people have resorted to selling their household belongings on the street.

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"In the past few days, huge lines have formed in front of banks all over Afghanistan, and the banks now don't have the currency," Fawaz Gerges, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics (LSE), tells the BBC.

"It doesn't matter if you have afghani currency, because that money has lost most of its value. And the central bank, the resources, the assets that helped to really sustain the afghani currency have been frozen."

Falling confidence in the Afghan economy has caused the afghani currency to plummet, Prof Gerges says - leaving civilians reliant on foreign NGOs and humanitarian organisations.

On top of all of this, Afghanistan is in the middle of a devastating drought, which according to UN estimates has left around half of the country's children malnourished.

"This is the second drought in three years," Prof Gerges says. Afghanistan, he says, already had the second-highest level of food insecurity in the world, high rates of poverty, and a health system "at breaking point" due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The Taliban takeover has exacerbated the multiple crises that already existed," Prof Gerges adds. "What we have in Afghanistan is a 'perfect storm' - and what I mean by 'perfect storm' is multiple crises happening at once. It could really turn Afghanistan into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, similar to the ones in Syria and Yemen."

But international leaders are hoping that the Taliban will want to prove that they are able to govern effectively, and so will be willing to compromise in order to get foreign funding reinstated.

For example, after chairing a virtual summit of G7 leaders this week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the countries had "very considerable leverage - economic, diplomatic and political" with the Taliban, including withholding substantial funds.

The G7 countries are the UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Prof Gerges says the G7 is "using carrots as opposed to sticks at this stage".

"It seems to me that the Western powers and the US are willing to do what is called conditional engagement - that is, that the Taliban have to behave in order for the international community to unfreeze Afghanistan's foreign reserves, and allow the Taliban access to Afghanistan's central bank's assets."

In terms of the economy, he says, "I think it's in the self-interests of the Taliban to provide goods and services for the Afghan people, to show that they are now in control, that they are a functioning government, and that they mean it when they say that they have changed."

But whether that is enough to make them compromise on their politics and ideology, he adds, is very much an open question.

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Afghanistan's economy in crisis after Taliban take-over

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Even before the Taliban gained control, Afghanistan's economy was fragile.

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Current Economic and Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

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Current Economic and Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

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In Afghanistan, a big economic and humanitarian crisis is happening right now. People are waiting in long lines outside banks because the money has lost most of its value, and the central bank's funds are frozen. The country is also facing a serious drought, the second one in three years, which has caused many children to be malnourished. This situation is made worse by high levels of food insecurity, poverty, and a health system that was already struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Taliban takeover has made these problems even worse, creating a “perfect storm” of crises. The international community, especially the G7 countries, is trying to use their power to get the Taliban to show they can govern well and make changes in exchange for foreign aid and access to frozen funds. It’s still unclear if the Taliban will change their policies enough to get the help they need.

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Before the Taliban took control in August 2021, Afghanistan was improving its health services. The government provided free healthcare, which helped lower the number of deaths among mothers and children and increased life expectancy. But when the Taliban took over, many of these improvements stopped because international funding was paused. The United Nations and other organizations have tried to keep some healthcare services running, but it’s still very hard for people to get the care they need. Women and children are especially affected because there are strict rules about women’s movements, making it hard for them to reach hospitals. There are also not enough female doctors and nurses, which makes it even harder for women to get help.

Institutions that are supposed to keep people safe, like the police and emergency services, are struggling because of ongoing conflicts and natural disasters in Afghanistan. These institutions are important for protecting people, but the country’s instability has made them less effective. This means that when disasters like earthquakes or droughts happen, it’s harder for the community to recover and stay safe.

The government’s role in Afghanistan has a big impact on how people experience social change. Before the Taliban took over, the government was working to give more people access to healthcare. But after the political shift in 2021, this progress stopped. The economy has also gotten much worse, with most people now living in poverty. The government’s inability to manage these problems has made life harder for everyone, especially women and children.

When health and safety institutions are weak, like they are in Afghanistan, it’s much harder for people to deal with changes and recover from crises.

The government and economic policies play a big role in how people cope with social changes. The lack of government support and the worsening economy in Afghanistan have made it very difficult for the community to handle the challenges they face.

In short, the health, safety, and state institutions in Afghanistan have been severely affected by the country’s instability, making it tough for the community to adapt to social changes. International support is crucial to help Afghanistan recover and provide basic services to its people.

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From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and made many strict rules. They banned things like music and films and banned girls from going to school. This affected everyone’s daily life.

The problems caused by the Taliban are still felt in Afghanistan today. Their actions have had a lasting impact.

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Islam is very important in Afghanistan and affects many parts of life, like social values, laws, and traditions. When there are changes in society, Islam influences how people feel about these changes and what they think is right or wrong. For example, religious leaders in Afghanistan have a big say in how people react to changes in education, women's rights, and government decisions.

Religion and social change are connected because Islamic beliefs guide how people make decisions on things like education, health, and justice. Islam teaches about community, charity, and helping others, which can encourage people to support positive changes in society. However, different ways of understanding Islam can also make some people resist changes that go against traditional practices.

In my community, Islam shapes how people see and respond to changes, affecting laws and customs. Because of this, any change in society is often looked at through the teachings of Islam.

Islam deeply influences my community in Afghanistan, shaping our values, traditions, and everyday life. When society changes, Islam guides how people in my community respond and decide what is acceptable.

For example, choices about education, women’s rights, and community rules are often based on Islamic teachings. Religious leaders have a strong influence, and their opinions can affect whether the community accepts or resists changes. Islam’s teachings, like caring for others and promoting justice, can encourage positive social change, but different interpretations of these teachings can sometimes lead to resistance against changes that challenge traditional beliefs.

In my community, social change is closely tied to religious beliefs. Islam not only guides daily life but also affects how people think about and react to new ideas or changes in society.

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Social movements have had a big impact on my community in Afghanistan, especially during times of change. These movements often focus on important issues like human rights, women's rights, and peace.

Some people in my community have joined social movements, especially those that support women's rights and education. These movements have worked to get more girls into school, improve healthcare, and give women more freedom. Even though these movements have faced challenges, they have made people talk about important changes.

Social movements have helped my community by making people think differently about old ideas and encouraging them to find new solutions to problems. They have made some people in my community more aware of their rights and more willing to stand up for change.

I see that social movements can be a strong force for change, even when things are tough. They bring people together to work for a shared goal, and over time, they can change minds and make society better.

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Women in Afghanistan: From almost everywhere to almost nowhere

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Women in Afghanistan: From almost everywhere to almost nowhere

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The Afghan women’s rights movement has been very important for making changes, especially since the Taliban took over in August 2021. Afghan women have been fighting for their rights for many years, including the right to go to school, work, and be part of public life. Before the Taliban returned, Afghan women had made a lot of progress. They had jobs in government, taught in schools, and worked in many fields.

However, after the Taliban took control, they imposed many rules that greatly limit what women can do. Women are now banned from going to parks, gyms, and most public places. They are also not allowed to work or study beyond the sixth grade.

Even with these restrictions, Afghan women are still fighting back. They are starting new groups, running businesses, and providing important services in their communities. This ongoing struggle shows how important it is for everyone around the world to support women's rights.

Mona Chalabi’s illustrations, with help from UN Women, show how much women’s freedom has decreased since the Taliban took over. The global response to this situation is very important because it affects not only Afghan women but also the fight for women’s rights everywhere.

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Learning about the Taliban helps us understand how big changes in society affect people’s lives. It shows why it’s important to fight for human rights and social justice.

This history connects to my social work studies by showing how social problems affect people and how we can help make things better.

Lessons for My Community: By learning from Afghanistan’s history, we can understand how to tackle social issues and work towards positive change in our communities.

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Economy: Afghanistan's economy has been hit hard by recent changes. This has led to fewer jobs, higher prices, and more people living in poverty.

Health, Safety, and the State: New rules have made it harder for people to get healthcare and stay safe, especially for women and minorities.

Social Movements: Afghan women have fought for their rights, but recent restrictions have rolled back many of their gains.

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Taliban fighters guard an aid site and give instructions to survivors of the earthquake, in the Gayan district of Afghanistan, June 24, 2022. (Kiana Hayeri/The New York Times)

USIP's William Byrd discusses the economic situation in Afghanistan a year since the Taliban came to power; the Taliban's economic management performance; the economic, humanitarian and aid outlook; and priorities for the United States and other countries.

What is the state of the Afghan economy today?

The economy has shrunk by 20% to 30% since August 2021, a great many people have lost jobs and livelihoods, social services have been decimated, poverty and hunger as well as the humanitarian crisis have greatly worsened, hundreds of thousands of people have left the country, government agencies have been denuded of managerial and professional staff, many Afghan businesses have closed or downsized and the bottom has dropped out of already low investment.

After a free fall that lasted many months, the Afghan economy is stabilizing but at a much lower equilibrium, leaving people poorer and more vulnerable to privation, hunger and disease. There is no prospect for the economy to resume high growth let alone recover to pre-2021 levels in the foreseeable future.

Externally, the Afghan currency's exchange rate has bounced back and is no lower than a year ago. Imports have declined sharply (reflecting the economic collapse and lack of international aid to finance imports) while exports have doubled in recent months. A series of U.S. Treasury announcements, culminating in General License 20 in February 2022, belatedly clarified that existing sanctions do not apply to Afghanistan as a jurisdiction, the Afghan government or government agencies, and public and private banks or firms.

Internally, Afghan businesses appear to have stopped further job losses and closures (while not coming anywhere near restoring pre-2021 levels of activity), goods are generally available in markets and wages seem to have stopped declining. Inflation remains high but is now the result of rising global food and energy prices not exchange rate depreciation or other domestic factors as was the case earlier. Mining has been a bright spot, with coal output and exports (mainly to Pakistan) on track to double this year to some four million tons.

This is not to say the economic situation is at all good, just that the free fall has stopped. The new equilibrium leaves most of the Afghan population - up to 70%, according to a World Bank survey - unable to afford food and other necessities, a "famine equilibrium" where many people would starve in the absence of humanitarian help.

How have the Taliban handled economic management over the past year? What have they done well?

Revenue collection at border crossings has been remarkable despite the steep drop in imports. Total revenues are on track to fall but by far less than the decline in the economy.

Arguably, the Taliban have taken a more positive (albeit simplistic) approach to the Afghan private sector than the previous government. Private firms have sometimes negotiated successfully with the Taliban over tax rates and other business issues of direct concern to them.

Taliban actions have greatly reduced corruption in customs and at road checkpoints (most of which have been removed). As a result, the overall burden on the private sector has been reduced even while formal tax receipts have held up. Also helping are the much-reduced financial inflows into the country which had previously enabled enormous corruption and waste. However, there are signs of some petty corruption in Taliban-controlled government agencies, extortion of nongovernmental organizations and the like.

Less large-scale corruption and the aid cutoff mean the adverse impact of the economic shock and subsequent adjustment has been disproportionately felt at the upper end of the Afghan income scale which benefited most from corruption, with smaller percentage reductions in incomes at the lower end.

The Taliban administration has generally kept to a responsible macroeconomic and monetary stance, unable to print new Afghani banknotes or to flood the country with dollars (limited to the U.N. cash shipments), and with withdrawals from banks limited to prevent their collapse.

What have the Taliban done badly?

Their complete lack of transparency on budget expenditures is unacceptable and may mask irregularities or more likely allocation of large amounts of funds to the security sector and other Taliban priorities.

Efforts to control the foreign exchange market and edicts not to use foreign currencies - even though not effectively implemented - betray a lack of understanding of market functioning and the advantages Afghanistan gains from free markets.

The large increases in coal and other mineral exports may further damage Afghanistan's crumbling roads, and it is not clear whether the Taliban will be able to maintain roads and other essential infrastructure better than the previous government, let alone oversee large new infrastructure investments. Not to speak of the problematic environmental and social consequences of mining.

Taliban ideology is getting in the way of sound economic management. Their recently announced ban on opium, if implemented, would further shock the Afghan economy and take away the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of rural people - an additional economic hit the country is simply unable to take. It remains to be seen whether the ban will be implemented.

Taliban restrictions on girls' education and women's roles in work would have disastrous longer-term economic consequences by limiting the participation of over half of the population in the economy.

What has been the impact of the economic situation and Taliban economic management on Afghans?

The improvement in security brought about by the Taliban victory and the end of major fighting has been favorable for the Afghan economy, benefiting many businesses and individuals. The same is true of the closure of most road checkpoints and much less corruption in customs.

In other respects, however, people are generally much worse off - though this is due primarily to the economic shock from the aid cutoff and should not be attributed solely or mostly to the Taliban's management of the economy. Where the Taliban are more directly implicated is in the deterioration in social services (stoppage of female secondary education, less and lower-quality health care, especially for women and girls), the related loss of employment for a great many women and policy instability in certain areas such as foreign exchange and banking.

What is the outlook for the Afghan economy?

Unfortunately, Afghanistan is stuck in a low-level equilibrium trap with very slow economic growth (around or below the population growth rate - meaning the lives of most people will not improve anytime soon). Even this unattractive scenario is precarious and could be derailed by continuing drought, lower humanitarian aid, the Ukraine war's impact on food prices or worsening security.

The continuing drought strikes at Afghanistan's most precious natural resource - water - and will make it all the more difficult for agriculture to play its essential role in economic recovery and supporting livelihoods. Serious implementation of the opium ban would create a perfect storm for the rural economy, risking outright famine and large movements of people out of the country.

Though down sharply from pre-August 2021 levels, Afghanistan's aid dependency remains high and is a continuing source of vulnerability. U.N. cash shipments, on the order of $1 billion to $1.5 billion per year, plus another perhaps roughly equal amount of non-cash humanitarian aid transfers, are essential both for human survival and for maintaining the degree of macroeconomic stability that has emerged. It is far from clear that this level of mainly humanitarian support can be sustained.

Other risks include the lingering effects of sanctions - really the fear of sanctions now that their scope has been clarified and narrowed, the weakness of the central bank partly reflecting its lack of access to frozen foreign exchange reserves and continuing problems with international financial transactions.

In the face of the current economic and humanitarian situation, what can the United States and other international donors do to help everyday Afghans?

Continuing current humanitarian aid is essential to avoid or mitigate a humanitarian catastrophe. But this is no long-term solution and would leave the country permanently dependent on such aid and vulnerable to any interruption. Humanitarian and other aid must be well-coordinated and cost-effective.

Donors will need to continue to strike a balance between maintaining food and other lifesaving assistance and providing some degree of support to basic services, livelihoods and modest economic growth, while not overly legitimizing or strengthening the Taliban regime. This is hard and will necessitate difficult trade-offs among these objectives.

The Taliban bear their own responsibility for the current economic situation. By ignoring and often openly flouting international priorities, they are making it more difficult for donors to sustain current aid let alone increase it (to compensate for rising food and other costs), and to restore normal international financial relations. They need to build on the more positive aspects of their economic management; appoint qualified, experienced officials to lead key economic agencies (the central bank and finance ministry); and become more responsive to international concerns not least in the economic field.

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One Year Later, Taliban Unable to Reverse Afghanistan's Economic Decline

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Afghanistan's economy was already deteriorating before the Taliban takeover of the country on August 15, 2021, suffering from severe drought, the COVID-19 pandemic, declining confidence in the previous government, falling international military spending as U.S. and other foreign troops left, human and capital flight, and Taliban advances on the battlefield.

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Economy: The economic problems mean many people can’t afford basic needs like food and housing. Jobs are harder to find, and prices for things keep going up.

Health, Safety, and the State: With new restrictions, people, especially women and children, have less access to healthcare and are less safe. This affects their daily lives and well-being.

Social Movements: Afghan women are still fighting for their rights, even though it’s become much harder. They are working to stay visible and keep pushing for equality.

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Women and girls face more severe restrictions than men. Their access to education, jobs, and public spaces is limited.

Poorer families suffer more from the economic crisis. They have a harder time finding resources and support.

People in rural areas often face bigger challenges than those in cities. They have fewer healthcare services and educational opportunities.