Afghanistan's 'Gen Z' fears for future and hard-won freedoms

Salgy, 20, poses for a photo after topping Afghanistan's university entrance exams, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021 in this handout picture obtained by Reuters

(Reuters) - When 20-year-old Salgy found out last week that she had topped some 200,000 students who took Afghanistan's university entrance exam this year, she was elated.

For months, she had locked herself away in her room in the capital Kabul to study, sometimes forgetting to eat. With her family crowding round their solar-powered TV as the results came in, she realised her hard work had paid off.