KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Frozan Ahmadzai is one of 200,000 Afghan women who have the Taliban’s permission to work. She should have graduated from university this year in pursuit of her dream of becoming a doctor, but the Taliban have barred women from higher education and excluded them from many jobs.

The number of job openings has declined sharply in every state since 2022, better aligning the numbers of unfilled jobs and people seeking work.

The headlines were the stuff of nightmares.

One Colorado funeral home owner let the body of a woman decompose for two years in a hearse parked outside a house he rented, while hoarding the cremated remains of dozens of others inside.