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Afghanistan: From The 1950s Till Kabul's Fall

Published August 16th, 2021 - 08:24 GMT

By Sally Shakkour

Have you ever wondered how Afghanistan changed through time? How was life in the South Asian country before the rise of the Taliban and after the founding of the Islamic movement and government in September 1994.

Life in Afghanistan was super different. women were able to hit the streets more freely, they wore plush and colorful wear with skirts, blouses and make up.

That was all before the onset of  the Afghanistan war, the invasion of the Soviets in December 1979 and then the US invasion in 2001 and now the fall of Kabul on Sunday August 15th.

In this slideshow you'll find a various images for Afghanistan and its people right from the 1920s, '50s and today.

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Afghanistan before wars

Afghanistan of the 50s-60s. (Twitter)

Afghanistan before wars

Afghanistan of the 50s-60s. (Twitter)

Afghanistan before wars

Picture taken in 1962 at the Faculty of Medicine in Kabul of two Afghan medicine students listening to their professor (at right) as they examine a plaster cast showing a part of a human body. AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan before wars

An Afghan worker checks a Russian-made truck in the Kabul Janagalak factory in an unspecified date. The factory situated in the center of the city as the only firm for making vehicle's chassis was plundered. AFP/File

Afghanistan before wars

The entrance to the Karkar coal mine around 12 kilometers northeast of Pulikhumri, the provincial town of the Northern province of Baghlan. The Karkar coal deposit at one time met the needs of Kabul city. AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan before wars

In Washington, District of Columbia, Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah talks with US President John F. Kennedy in the car that took them to the White House on September 8, 1963. AFP/File

Afghanistan before wars

Afghanistan before Taliban between 50s and 70s. (Twitter)

Afghanistan before wars

Afghanistan of the 60s and 70s. Twitter

Afghanistan before wars

In this picture taken in 1981, a woman, unveiled and without a headscarf, is seen with her children. AFP/ File Photo

Afghanistan before wars

Afghans wait outside the Kabul central Pulicharkhi prison on January 14, 1980, days after the Moscow-installed regime of Babrak Karmal took over. Although the regime released 126 prisoners from the notorious jail, around 1,000 residents stormed the compound to set 12 inmates free. Hans Paul/AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan before wars

Soviet troops on the move in Afghanistan, mid-1980s. Georgi Nadezhdin/AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan before wars

US President Ronald Reagan along with a group of Afghan freedom fighters to discuss Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan, especially the September 1982 massacre of 105 Afghan villagers in Lowgar Province. (Ronald Reagan Presidential Library)

Afghanistan before wars

Afghan child with American troops. AFP/File Photo

Afghanistan before wars

A burqa-clad Afghan women in Kabul. AFP/ File Photo

Afghanistan before wars

Taliban fighters stand guard along a roadside near the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP)

Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan of the 50s-60s. (Twitter)
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan of the 50s-60s. (Twitter)
Afghanistan before wars
Picture taken in 1962 at the Faculty of Medicine in Kabul of two Afghan medicine students listening to their professor (at right) as they examine a plaster cast showing a part of a human body. AFP/Getty Images
Afghanistan before wars
An Afghan worker checks a Russian-made truck in the Kabul Janagalak factory in an unspecified date. The factory situated in the center of the city as the only firm for making vehicle's chassis was plundered. AFP/File
Afghanistan before wars
The entrance to the Karkar coal mine around 12 kilometers northeast of Pulikhumri, the provincial town of the Northern province of Baghlan. The Karkar coal deposit at one time met the needs of Kabul city. AFP/Getty Images
Afghanistan before wars
In Washington, District of Columbia, Afghan King Mohammad Zahir Shah talks with US President John F. Kennedy in the car that took them to the White House on September 8, 1963. AFP/File
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan before Taliban between 50s and 70s. (Twitter)
Afghanistan before wars
Afghanistan of the 60s and 70s. Twitter
Afghanistan before wars
In this picture taken in 1981, a woman, unveiled and without a headscarf, is seen with her children. AFP/ File Photo
Afghanistan before wars
Afghans wait outside the Kabul central Pulicharkhi prison on January 14, 1980, days after the Moscow-installed regime of Babrak Karmal took over. Although the regime released 126 prisoners from the notorious jail, around 1,000 residents stormed the compound to set 12 inmates free. Hans Paul/AFP/Getty Images
Afghanistan before wars
Soviet troops on the move in Afghanistan, mid-1980s. Georgi Nadezhdin/AFP/Getty Images
Afghanistan before wars
US President Ronald Reagan along with a group of Afghan freedom fighters to discuss Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan, especially the September 1982 massacre of 105 Afghan villagers in Lowgar Province. (Ronald Reagan Presidential Library)
Afghanistan before wars
Afghan child with American troops. AFP/File Photo
Afghanistan before wars
A burqa-clad Afghan women in Kabul. AFP/ File Photo
Afghanistan before wars
Taliban fighters stand guard along a roadside near the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar / AFP)
Tags:AfghanistanWarSoviet warUSTalibanKabul

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