Despite three years of Taliban rule, life in Afghanistan remains difficult.

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan has intensified over the past three years, with women's rights being severely restricted and Kabul remaining isolated from the international community under Taliban rule.

Nearly three-quarters of Afghans are "subsistence insecure," meaning they lack reliable access to basic resources such as food, water, housing, and healthcare, with more than half the nation requiring humanitarian assistance, and a quarter facing "acute" food insecurity, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The UNDP stated that the nation's economy "basically collapsed" after the Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, due to the shutdown of international funding through government donor plans, such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund.

The Taliban has worsened its economic crisis by promoting its extremist beliefs and imposing oppressive restrictions on women, preventing them from working or receiving education.

Since the conclusion of the "War on Terror" three years ago, there has been debate about whether life in Afghanistan is better or worse than it was before the 9/11 attacks and subsequent invasion.

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert on security issues in the Middle East and South Asia, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that if the situation is not deteriorating further, it is moving in that direction rapidly.

The Taliban has reinstated strict bans on women and brought back corporal punishment through public floggings and group-enforced executions. Furthermore, the Taliban's leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, threatened in May to reinstate stoning women to death for adultery, a punishment that was never fully eradicated even during the U.S. incursion.

According to Rubin, who had contact with the Taliban prior to 9/11, the primary distinction between the present and pre-2001 is the Taliban's enhanced resources.

Even though the Taliban does not receive direct funding from international humanitarian organizations, it has discovered methods to divert funds for its own benefit.

On Wednesday, the Taliban commemorated the three-year anniversary of their takeover of Kabul with a parade at Bagram Air Base, displaying U.S. military equipment that was left behind after the withdrawal.

The Taliban's efforts to suppress opposition were celebrated in speeches, while Afghanistan's isolation from the international community was highlighted.

"The Islamic Emirate resolved internal divisions and broadened the scope of unity and cooperation in the country, as Deputy Prime Minister Maulvi Abdul Kabir stated, according to an AP News report. No one will be permitted to meddle in internal affairs, and Afghan soil will not be utilized against any nation."

Soldiers holding light and heavy machine guns stood beside abandoned U.S. military machinery, including helicopters, tanks, and vehicles, at the airbase.

Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founding editor of "The Long War Journal," stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the Taliban conducts these parades annually to flaunt their victory and our defeat.

Despite some countries' diplomatic engagement with the insurgent group, Western nations are still highly concerned about Afghanistan's renewed status as a haven for terrorist organizations.

""Today, Afghanistan is more dangerous than before 9/11 due to the Taliban's full control and support of al Qaeda and other terror groups," Roggio stated."

Al Qaeda is currently operating training camps in 12 provinces across the country with minimal opposition from within.