Why did the taliban initially have the support of the population of Afghanistan?

Answer 1

When all systems of law break down and government seems hopelessly corrupt, people will seek out any group that appears to have a solution to the problems that are causing so much despair. In Afghanistan, the Taliban seemed to be that group. They were perceived as moral and ethical, and they pledged to clean up the corruption and bring a sense of order to the society. The Afghan culture, especially in rural areas, was already very conservative, so the Taliban probably did not seem excessively extreme at the beginning, plus people were genuinely hopeful that the Taliban would improve things.

Of course, the initial support gradually faded, especially when the Taliban proved to be rigid and authoritarian, punitive to girls and women, and unwilling to allow any compromise to their interpretation of Islam. Further, many Taliban were quickly seen as brutal, and some even were involved in the opium trade. In some parts of Afghanistan, support for them remains, but for the most part, they are no longer seen as the answer to the country's problems, the way they were at the beginning of their rule.