♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight -- [ gunfire ] after the fall. one year after the chaotic withdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan. our ian pannell back on the ground. the brutal reality of life under taliban control. as hunger takes hold. and women are forced back into the shadows. we confront the taliban about their broken promises. >> was that a lie? >> absolutely not. >> so what happened? >> and why some are still clinging to hope. plus, wikiworld. from bodega cats to the pope mobile a deep dive into the wacky and wonderful side of the world's largest online encyclopedia. and the expert mining for trivia

treasure. >> puffer fish have this mating ritual where the males attract females by making elaborate a volunteer squad to share nuggets of knowledge to usal >> youonibingo e tif knowledge that has ever existed in the history of the world.

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tonight, life under the taliban. abc's chief foreign correspondent ian pannell takes us back inside afghanistan one year after the withdrawal of u.s. troops. what he found is that the greatest fears for many left behind have become the new reality. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: imagine whoo it's like to cross the safe threshold of home every day -- walk out onto the streets alone, when you're just 9 years old. and yet every day, little zelast

must do this, to keep hunger from the door. he may be the youngest and smallest in the family, but his mother, father, and four siblings all depend on his ability to sell gum for a dollar or two a day in order to get the daily bread. fear is an ever-present shadow for the street kids of kabul. for zalast, even more so. he carries a secret. one that puts him and so many others here in afghanistan in grave danger. a darkness has fallen across this land. in the marketplace, on every street corner and thoroughfare, in the long stares and lost faces of the people -- this additionalness is cast by men in black turbans bearing a white banner, clutching american-made weapons.

for the last 12 months, the taliban have ruled the country with a rod of iron. tens of thousands fleeing the country. girls driven out of schools. women from workplaces. and growing numbers of children left to beg for scraps. children like zarasht. at 9, he carries the weight of the world on his slim shoulders. he also bears a heavy secret. because this little boy is, in fact, a girl. za zalasht is forced to hide who she is for her own safety. what is it like going out onto the streets? >> how is it scary? what's scary about it?

>> how did it feel having to cut your hair? >> reporter: zalasht has no say in her world. her mother can't work after having a stroke. her father can't earn enough to feed the family. it sounds like a tale from some dickens drama. but over 60,000 children work on the streets of kabul every single day. what you're witnessing is the slow unraveling of an entire country, from its youngest to the eldest. after u.s. and allied troops withdrew in august of last year and the taliban seized power as the elected government collapsed, all of the country's

overseas accounts were frozen, blocking the taliban's access to $9 ] 5 billion of reserves, shrinking its economy by a third. the hardest hit have been the most vulnerable. 95% of afghans no longer get enough to eat. unemployment could reach 40% by the end of the year. while the prices of food and gas have soared by 50% in the last 12 months. hunger now stalks this land, preying on the smallest of bellies. we've just come inside the main maternity and children's hospital in kabul. this is the best-funded, best-equipped hospital of its kind in afghanistan. and even here, the need is overwhelming. there were only supposed to be 10 babies on this ward, but like every other room in the

hospital, it's at double capacity with many more waiting to be admitted. is this a boy or girl? a little boy? he looks like he's malnourished, is that right? how hard to get been to try and get him enough milk? >> reporter: across afghanistan, you'd be hard-pressed not to find the specter of broken promises. with 20 years' experience as hardened fighters and almost now none on how to run a country, the militants run a nation that's spiraling out of control. it's not only the economy but their own harsh restrictions, and consistently, women and girls of this country are being impacted the most. but some refuse to accept this

tyranny. with underground schools springing up in the country, a faint but glimmering light. we've come to the very outskirts of kabul. many, many girls, thousands and thousands of them, have been denied an education, and in defiance of taliban orders, many of them have decided to set up their own schools. many of the girls in the school we visited have to hide their schoolwork from their own fathers and brothers, some of whom are in the taliban. >> reporter: the taliban made many promises during negotiations with the trump

administration. some tried to sell the idea that this was a new, more moderate, movement. when i was here in august, i was with you at that very first press conference. you translated this. "women will be afforded all their rights, whether it's at work or other activities. women are a key part of society. we are guaranteeing their rights." was that a lie? >> absolutely not. >> so what happened? >> women are being given their rights. each society interprets rights of human beings differently. for example, the united states recently, the u.s. supreme court passed a law banning abortions. we disagree with that from a religious perspective. but at the end of the day, it is the sovereign choice of the united states of what laws it facts. what we're asking for is the same level of respect when it comes to our sovereign choices

in terms of the laws and regulations that we enact in our country. >> reporter: but there's no evidence that the taliban can be trusted to their word. in fact, all evidence the last 12 months suggests the opposite. whether men with guns have sought power and control, others are choosing a new path, one of hope, of beauty, and real strength. when i first met laila haideri last spring, she was running a restaurant staffed entirely by women, while also raising money for shelters for abused women. when we met last september, her world had turned upside down. her restaurant was closed down by the taliban, and harsh new rules for women meant she'd been effectively confined to her home.

>> reporter: laila turned tears into purpose. and by the time we met again this month, her fight was back. laila now runs a training center where women learn english and trades, like jewelry and sew, all hidden behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the taliban.

>> reporter: that is the situation in here. how is the situation outside? >> reporter: laila ace optimism burns bright in a land full of broken promises and lost dreams. >> what the taliban haven't realized but what women know,

what the girls with secret books understand, that is afghanistan has changed. and perhaps at a time of greatest darkness, these flames of hope could light the way to a better tomorrow that afghanistan so desperately needs. >> our thanks to ian. up next, we dive into the depths of wikipedia and the influencer showcasing the most eccentric and off-the-wall information in the world's largest online encyclopedia. as someone living with type 2 diabetes, i want to keep it real and talk about some risks. with type 2 diabetes you have up to 4 times greater risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. even at your a1c goal, you're still at risk ...which if ignored could bring you here... ...may put you in one of those... ...or even worse. too much? that's the point. get real about your risks and do something about it. talk to your health care provider about ways to lower your risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. learn more at getrealaboutdiabetes.com

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it's been said, knowledge is power. when it comes to wikipedia, the

power comes from the people. tonight, how one young influencer and the editors she's inspiring add to the online compendium with sometimes surprising but vital information. a special place online you can go to get your quirky, nerdy fix. learn the art of chegs boxing. the history of the pope mobile. r are or the life story of jonathan, the world's oldest living tortoise. nuggets of knowledge showcased on the social media hot spot "depths of wikipedia." curated by annie rawarda. >> puffer fish of a this mating rituals where males attract females by making elaborate sand sculptures. this is so cute to me. i feel this would work on me. jane goodall works with chimps for 60 years but said dogs were her favorite animal, so you goof

to mix business and pleasure. >> reporter: in her dorm room, annie became a connoisseur of the world's largest online encyclopedia. >> it's crazy to write encyclopedia articles for free, but it's also empowering, a bit maddening, and very fun. you're writing history in realtime. you can do it from your computer, you don't have to be famous or powerful or pay a lot of money. >> reporter: the recent college grad taking her social media fame across the country, reaching an even wider audience with her live show, bringing her unique potpourri of infocomedy to the stain. >> wikipedia has everything you need. it's not sexually active popes. we've got fictional raccoons. 69 of them. we have a reminder that humans can send a man to the moon, literally no big deal. we can't figure out the biggest sofa that can fit around the corner. >> the show is alive showing the depths of the wikipedia streaming account where we bring on audience contestants to play games, we bring on comedians who

embody the depths of wikipedia ethos. >> i want to talk about the way me, a humble, normal gay guy, uses wikipedia, basically, researching b and c-list actresses, period. >> this is one of my favorite sentences in wikipedia, john paul ii requested the media stop referring to the car as pope mobile, saying the term was undignified. anyway, the pope mobile, blah, blah, blah. >> annie's really passionate about making people not just consumers of wikipedia, but contr contributors. the only reason that wikipedia exists is because people, passionate people, have donated their time to build this incredible resource. >> reporter: she also hosts wikipedia edit-a-thons, like this one at the brooklyn creative league in clinton hill, sponsored by the wikipedia foundation. giving a little love to underrated topics. . >> autin order to be represente

we need live people to write about it. which means very much wikipedia reinforces existing biases and inequities out there in the larger literature. wikipedia articles predominantly represent white cisgendered men. >> when wikipedia first started, it was the wild west. the whole idea is crazy. if anyone can edit an encyclopedia, how could it possibly be better than just memes and silly jokes? since the early days, i do think that it's improved a lot. and that's thanks to so many volunteers who defend free knowledge for no money, just for passion. >> reporter: whether the bodega cats, extreme ironing, or turkey bowling -- annie's passion, fostering a community to help keep wikipedia weird and wonderful. ♪

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met. the image of him with then-president reagan and vice president george bush. the twin towers in the background. here driving president bush in the golf cart. becoming a member of the communist party in 1952 where he would rise through the ranks. president reagan at the berlin wall in june of 1987 and this famous speech. >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: six months later at the white house, the two leaders together signing the inf treaty. the two joking. president reagan and those words "trust but verify squoochlt. >> we have listened to the wisdom in an old russian maxim. though my pronunciation may give you difficulty. the maxim is -- [ speaking russian ] "trust but verify."

repeat that at every meeting. >> reporter: gorbachev was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1990. tonight, russia's state agency is announcing gorbachev's death at the age of 91. he asked to be buried next to his wife. >> our thanks to david. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. see you back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. what's the difference between prop 26 and prop 27? 26? not one dime to get people off the streets and into housing 27 generates hundreds of million to help solve homelessness. the choice is clear yes on prop 27.