How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power

On 30 August 2021, the United States ended its military presence in Afghanistan, marking the end of 20 years of war and foreign occupation. In the wake of the withdrawal, Taliban forces quickly seized the levers of power in the country after two decades of insurgency. This included a triumphant march on the capital city of Kabul and other urban centres, which had undergone years of US-backed reforms expanding the freedoms of women.

A follow-up to the Norwegian filmmaker Anders Hammer’s documentary Do Not Split (2020) on the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests, The Takeover (2023) provides yet another powerful street-level view of political turmoil and oppression. The work documents a full year following the Taliban’s return to power, with a focus on how, despite the bravery of protesters, the role of women in society is slowly extinguished. Indeed, even pro-Taliban female figures almost entirely disappear from public view by the film’s end. Chronicling the complexity of the situation with admirable skill and journalistic rigour, Hammer captures Afghans with vastly different backgrounds and views. However, besides a small group of Taliban leaders, they all share one thing in common – the need to navigate geopolitical forces far beyond their control.