Throughout its history, Afghanistan has had a vibrant civil society comprised of shuras at the local, district, and provincial levels. Civil society re-emerged following the American invasion. The past two decades of foreign aid and intervention to rebuild Afghanistan helped create a diverse and inclusive civil society organization that included NGOs and associations. The civil society groups ran various programs, including development planning, promoting education, human rights, health education, and services. The Afghan media also flourished and was considered the freest in the region. Starting in late 2020, civil society actors, particularly human rights defenders, and journalists became the target of assassination and targeted killings. Although no group claimed responsibility, the Taliban were believed to be behind the killings. In post-takeover Afghanistan, the definition of civil society has narrowed down to its traditional form. The Taliban have restricted free and fair reporting and severely restricted human rights defense and promotion. Only local level shuras and jirgas can operate with little fear of impunity from the new rulers.