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STORY: Heightened security - but also rising poverty, and fading hope for women. Afghans are taking stock as the Taliban mark a year in power.

Taliban fighters observed small-scale celebrations on Monday (August 15), a year after they marched into the capital Kabul.

But foreign governments refuse to recognize Afghanistan's new rulers, and the development aid the country relied on has been cut, putting huge pressure on the economy.

A key demand for the international community is for the Taliban to respect the rights of Afghans, particularly girls and women whose access to work and education has been curbed.

Meena Ahmadzai is a university student.

"The big difference we see in our life is that all the girl’s schools are banned. We have not studied for the past year and this is hard to compensate for. But despite all these challenges we request that they allow us to continue our education, and resume our studies next year. The other change I see is the weaker economy of the country.”

The country is safer than it was when the hardline Islamists were fighting U.S.-led foreign forces and their Afghan allies, although a local offshoot of Islamic State has carried out attacks.

This is school student Abdul Mateen:

“In general we are happy with the Islamic Emirate, the security situation improved a lot, they have worked a lot on this area. Currently we see insecurity in few places, security is tight across the country, there were only few cases of blasts in Kabul. We see some economic problems, but overall, from every aspect the Islamic Emirate is trying its best to control the situation.”

Those economic problems will be hard for the Taliban to overcome.

Roughly 25 million Afghans are now living in poverty - well over half the population.

The Taliban wants $9 billion in central bank reserves held overseas be returned, but talks with the United States face hurdles.

The U.S. demands that a Taliban leader subject to sanctions step down from a top position at the bank first.

The Taliban refuse to cede to these pressures, and say they respect all Afghans' rights within the framework of their interpretation of Islamic law.

Until there is a major shift by either side, Afghans are unlikely to see an end to spiraling prices, rising joblessness and hunger that only will get worse as winter sets in.