Weeks before the fall of Kabul, we filmed ‘In the Heart of the Taliban’ showing how the fundamentalist movement was preparing for power. Now, we return to the city to find the people we previously interviewed and see how they are faring under the Islamic Emirates.
Afghanistan is in the midst of an economic crisis, with many citizens resorting to selling their goods in the capital’s flea markets to survive. After twenty years of fighting, Commander Zaquer has become one of Kabul’s police chiefs. He delights in riding the bumper cars in the city’s amusement park, however, at the same time, Lawmaker Allah Gul Mujahid is arrested and humiliated by the Taliban in front of our cameras. Meanwhile, inside Kabul’s prison, supporters of the previous government await trial and possible execution.
Women have become second-class citizens yet again in the country, and Arifa, a young high school student, is now confined to her home because the Taliban have banned school for girls over 12 years old. To try to defend their rights, some protest in the street, but they are immediately met with automatic weapons, fire and whippings.