‘The Decision of My Life’

This episode contains descriptions of violence and a suicide attempt.

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August, our producer started making calls. With the help of colleagues, she contacted women in different cities and towns to find out how their lives had changed and what they were experiencing.

Then she heard from N, whose identity has been concealed for her safety.

This is the story of how one 18-year-old woman’s life has been transformed under Taliban rule.

Guest: Lynsea Garrison, a senior international producer for The Daily, spoke with N, a young woman whose life changed drastically after the fall of Kabul.

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Background reading: 

• “When we think about our future, we can’t see anything.” This is what some Afghan girls said when they were asked about life under the Taliban.
• Four Afghan women who sought refuge in the United States talk about their lives now and everything they gave up.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.