'If I want to save my life I have to wear a burqa' - the day women's lives changed in Kabul

In the Afghan capital women stayed home in fear of being beaten by the Taliban for not covering themselves

Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint near the US embassy today. One older woman who went out to get food for her family saw gunmen pushing women and sending them home for not being covered. Photo: AP

The streets of Kabul were emptied of women on Monday, the first full day of Taliban rule across Afghanistan, as Taliban gunmen patrolled in cars seized by police, confiscated guns from security guards and urged shopkeepers and government employees back to work.

Chaos unfolded at the airport, where troops used guns and helicopters to clear the runways, and several people died in frantic last-minute attempts to escape by clinging to departing planes.