Since the collapse of the Taliban in 2001, when the status of women in Afghanistan was arguably at its lowest in recent history, Afghani women have made meaningful strides in gaining rights. During the brutal Taliban years, women were banned from going to work or even leaving their house without a male to accompany them, and the Draconian laws instated under the guise of an Islamic state ultimately resulted in many Afghani women living under virtual house arrest.
After the fall, women began reentering the workplace and universities, taking off their veils, and even starting their own businesses. It was a difficult transition process, but by the fall of 2003, an Afghan Women’s Bill of Rights had been drafted and presented to President Hamid Karzai, with provisions ensuring health care, education, financial independence, and protection from sexual harassment and rape, most notably within a marriage. No one was naive enough to believe that the Bill of Rights equated to immediate rights for all women across Afghanistan, but with progressive laws came the opportunity to prosecute, ostensibly, those who imposed Taliban-era rules on women.
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