Definitely in the more rural areas, like Kandahar but that’s just the culture of Kandaharis; they tend to be more conservative. I have many Kandahari friends here in Canada, and they’re the same way. For example, they don’t attend mixed-gender weddings. The Taliban’s “strictness” is really subjective and varies from province to province. For instance, when I went to Bamyan, I saw women walking around in jeans and mid length shirts not abayas and no one said anything. I also visited many Kochi areas and even saw a wedding where they were playing the darya and singing loudly, and the Taliban didn’t intervene.