-Introduction
-Pre-Soviet History
-Pashtun People
-Soviet Invasion
-The Afghan Girl
-End of Occupation
-Taliban Rule
-The Search
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In the vacuum left in Afghanistan's government after the withdrawal of Soviet forces, a new group of Pakistani educated religious fundamentalists began to rise in the early to mid 1990's. Calling themselves the Taliban, "students", they began seizing control of the southern parts of the country in 1994. By 2001, with the help of Islamic sources in other countries, the Taliban controlled almost the entire country.

The Taliban's strict interpretations of parts of the Islamic faith led to the further oppression of women in their society. They started a Ministry for the strict interpretation of Islamic law, and gave it power to create and enforce said laws. Girls were not allowed to attend school, and women were not allowed to work or move around without a male family member as an escort. The impact on women also included the inability to work outside the home, resulting in an even greater hit to Afghanistan's already failing economy. The Taliban created laws to influence every part of daily life and the penalty for disobedience was often violent.

The Taliban also ordered the destruction of several ancient religious sites that were not Islamic, destroying priceless archeological sites. Due to the laws they imposed, and the method with which they came to power, they were not widely recognized as the formal government of Afghanistan.

The Taliban also served to provide protection to Islamic radicals like Osama Bin Ladin. After the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the US led coalition forces attacked the Taliban in order to remove them from power on October 7, 2001. The conflict ended on December 9, 2001.

Both during the conflict and in the aftermath, National Geographic was looking for a unique way to present this country and it's people following the events of September 11, in the United States. There answer came in the quest to find out what happened to the "Afghan Girl."