The Taliban have been in charge of Kabul for 48 hours. Women have already disappeared from the streets

“I’m thinking about my future, my daughters, what will happened to them if they kill me — two daughters without a mother,” one woman told CNN.

The woman, who CNN is not naming for security reasons, has worked for a number of international NGOs. She said she has spent days desperately pleading with them for help, but none has responded.

“It is not easy … having more than 10 years experience of working with international [organizations] and not one of them helped me,” she said.

The fear is all encompassing

For one clothing store in central Kabul, the Taliban takeover has meant a boost for business; Its owner told CNN he has sold many burqas in recent days.

The garment covers the body from head to toe, with a mesh panel over the eyes. It was mandatory attire for women when the Taliban last ruled in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

The shopkeeper said his customers — largely men — are frightened and are buying them for their wives, daughters and other women in their lives because they feel that from now on, wearing a burqa may be the only way for them to stay safe on the streets.

This is the tense reality of life in Kabul now.

For now, the Taliban is insisting that life should go on as normal, telling government workers to come back to work.

The group’s leaders insist that there is no danger to the “property, honor and life” of Afghan citizens, and they have told their fighters not to enter people’s homes or confiscate their cars.

Promises alone are not enough to assuage people’s concerns, however.

The heavily-armed Taliban fighters patrolling Kabul city center may not be imposing harsh rules on people’s lives yet, but the fear that this could change at any minute is all encompassing.