'They will ban all art': Afghan filmmaker urges protections for women and artists from Taliban

When the Taliban were in power, zero girls were in school. Since then, there are over nine million Afghan girls in school. Just in these few weeks, the Taliban have destroyed many schools and two million girls are forced now out of school again, said Karimi. Photo: Reuters

Noted Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi has penned an open letter calling on the world to wake up to the impact of the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan. She calls for protection for filmmakers and for women in general against the brutal militants who have overrun the country amid the final US withdrawal of forces.

Karimi's letter was sent to international media organisations and posted in different forms on her Facebook account. On Sunday, the Taliban's grip on Afghanistan seemed to be near complete as militants were reported to have swept into the nation's capital of Kabul, forcing the president to flee.