ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Afghan women were barred from public celebrations this week, marking the fourth anniversary of the Taliban's return to power, as the group staged men-only gatherings across Kabul.

On August 15, around 10,000 men assembled at six sites in the capital to watch Defense Ministry helicopters scatter flowers over the crowds. Women were prohibited from attending, with half of the chosen venues already inaccessible since the Taliban banned female entry to parks and recreational spaces in November 2022.

The anniversary comes four years after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, when U.S. and NATO forces completed their withdrawal after two decades of war. Since then, the group has imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic law, under orders from supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, stripping women and girls of many fundamental rights. Girls remain barred from education beyond sixth grade, while women are prohibited from most employment and excluded from public life.

This year's program featured speeches by senior ministers, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. However, a planned outdoor sports performance featuring Afghan athletes was quietly canceled. Taliban leaders framed the day as a celebration of "Victory Day," but rights activists denounced it as a grim reminder of repression.

In Takhar province, the United Afghan Women's Movement for Freedom staged an indoor protest, calling the date "the beginning of a black domination that excluded women from work, education, and social life." Their statement described August 15 as "an open wound of history" and declared, "The fall of Afghanistan was not the fall of our will."

A parallel demonstration took place in Islamabad, Pakistan, where Afghan women, fully veiled except for their eyes, carried signs reading: "Forgiving the Taliban is an act of enmity against humanity" and "August 15th is a dark day."

Earlier that day, Taliban leader Akhundzada issued a rare public statement warning that Afghans who failed to express gratitude for Islamic rule would face divine punishment. He credited the imposition of Sharia law with saving the country from "corruption, oppression, usurpation, drugs, theft, robbery, and plunder." He urged Afghans to thank Allah during the anniversary to ensure continued blessings.

At a Cabinet meeting in Kandahar earlier in the week, Akhundzada insisted that the stability of the Taliban government depended on spreading religious knowledge. He ordered the construction of new mosques, the promotion of "religious awareness," and measures to protect citizens from "harmful ideologies," according to government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat.

Unlike last year, when the Taliban staged a military parade at a former U.S. airbase, showcasing abandoned American-made weapons and drawing global criticism, including from then former U.S. President Donald Trump, this year's commemorations were more subdued.