Author: Hamia Naderi

The fall of the first Taliban regime in 2001 was more than a political transition; it marked the beginning of the most extensive effort toward social modernization in Afghanistan’s contemporary history. During the following two decades, the issue of women’s rights moved from the margins to the center of both national and international political agendas. Although these developments were accompanied by international support and geopolitical motivations, they opened opportunities that Afghan women had waited centuries to access.

An analysis of this period shows that a new generation of women succeeded in rebuilding the country’s educational, economic, political, and judicial foundations. However, due to the absence of deep cultural institutionalization, the persistent divide between urban and rural areas, and the heavy dependence on foreign aid, these achievements remained vulnerable to political change.

Legal Engineering and Positive Discrimination

One of the most significant achievements of this period was the restoration of a modern legal framework. The 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, inspired in part by the 1964 Constitution, emphasized equality between men and women in Article 22. This principle became the foundation for many of the subsequent advances in women’s rights.

A key innovation was the introduction of affirmative action mechanisms designed to compensate for the historical marginalization of women. The electoral system was structured to ensure women’s presence in the legislative branch. In the Wolesi Jirga (House of Representatives), which consisted of 249 seats, at least 25 percent of the seats were reserved for women, with a minimum of two seats allocated to women from each province. In several election cycles, women held around 27 percent of the seats (approximately 69 seats), placing Afghanistan relatively high in the region in terms of women’s parliamentary representation.

In the Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), the president was required to appoint half of the appointed members from among women. This arrangement helped cultivate a generation of female political leaders such as Fawzia Koofi, Shukria Barakzai, and Habiba Sarabi, who later became internationally recognized political figures.

A major legal milestone was the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), enacted by presidential decree in 2009. Consisting of four chapters and 44 articles, the law criminalized practices such as forced marriage, sexual violence, rape, deprivation of inheritance, and the denial of education and employment. It transformed violence against women from a private matter into a public crime. Although the law never received full parliamentary approval due to opposition from conservative factions, it nevertheless became an important tool for women’s rights advocates.

Women’s Participation in the Executive Structure and Local Governance

Women’s participation gradually moved beyond symbolic representation toward genuine administrative authority. The establishment of the **Ministry of Women’s Affairs** following the Bonn Agreement in 2001 was a crucial first step. Sima Samar became the first minister and also served as one of the vice presidents in the interim administration. She was later followed by ministers such as Habiba Sarabi, Masooda Jalal, Hassan Bano Ghazanfar, and Delbar Nazari.

Habiba Sarabi also became Afghanistan’s first female provincial governor, serving in Bamyan Province from 2005 to 2013, setting an important precedent for women’s leadership in local governance.

By the final years of the republic, women had reached several key positions in government institutions:

* Mayor: Azra Jafari became Afghanistan’s first female mayor in Nili, Daykundi Province.
* Ambassadors: Roya Rahmani served as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Washington, while Adela Raz represented the country at the United Nations.
* Deputy Ministers: Women served as deputy ministers in the ministries of defense, interior, foreign affairs, and higher education.
* Cabinet Members: Women such as Delbar Nazari (Women’s Affairs), Farida Momand (Higher Education), and Salamat Azimi (Counter-Narcotics) held cabinet-level positions during the National Unity Government.

Transformation in the Judiciary

Significant changes also occurred in the judiciary. Before the collapse of the republic in 2021, approximately 265 female judges around 13 percent of the country’s judiciary served in courts across Afghanistan. Most were graduates of faculties of law and sharia who had completed specialized judicial training programs.

Many of these judges handled complex cases, particularly in specialized courts dealing with violence against women. The Supreme Court encouraged cases related to violence against women to be heard by female judges whenever possible.

Samira Naimati, a female judge from Faryab Province, represented the commitment of Afghan women within the judicial system. Despite severe security threats including the assassination of two female Supreme Court judges in Kabul in January 2021 these women continued their work with remarkable courage.

Educational Transformation

Perhaps the most significant achievements occurred in the field of education. In 2001, girls’ participation in formal education was nearly nonexistent. By 2021, however, approximately 3.8 million girls were enrolled in schools, representing about 39 percent of the total student population.

Female literacy rates increased from less than 5 percent to over 30 percent, and in urban younger generations the rate exceeded 50 percent.

Higher education also experienced remarkable growth. More than **100,000 female students**, roughly one quarter of all university students, were studying in public and private universities. Women entered fields such as engineering, medicine, law, Islamic studies, computer science, and other advanced disciplines. Hundreds of women received international scholarships, including programs such as the Fulbright Scholarship, enabling them to study at universities abroad.

Employment and Economic Independence

During this period, the longstanding taboo surrounding women working outside the home was significantly weakened. Women eventually made up 27–28 percent of the civil service workforce, and approximately 35 percent of school teachers were women.

The Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, established in 2017, registered more than 1,150 women entrepreneurs who invested over 77 million dollars and created employment opportunities for approximately 77,000 people.

Women also joined the security sector. More than 4,000 women served in the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army, including pioneering figures such as pilot Niloofar Rahmani, one of the country’s first female military aviators.

Progress in the Health Sector

Major improvements also occurred in the health sector, particularly through the expansion of midwifery and female medical professionals. The number of female doctors increased from around **200 in 2001** to more than 3,500 by 2020.

Maternal mortality rates decreased significantly—from approximately 1,100–1,400 deaths per 100,000 live births to about 600. Access to health services for women in rural areas also improved, increasing from around 8 percent to more than 50 percent.

Human Rights Institutions and International Commitments

Afghanistan also established key human rights institutions during this period. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, created under the Bonn Agreement, became a central institution for monitoring human rights conditions in the country.

Afghanistan also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2003 without reservations, demonstrating a formal commitment to global standards on women’s rights.

Critical Assessment

Despite these significant achievements, deep structural challenges remained. The divide between urban and rural areas persisted, and many of the advances were concentrated primarily in cities. In rural communities, patriarchal traditions continued to dominate social life. Practices such as forced marriage, baad (the exchange of women to settle disputes), domestic violence, and the denial of inheritance rights remained widespread.

According to a 2019 report by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, more than **3,500 cases of violence against women were officially recorded, although this figure likely represented only a small fraction of the actual cases.

Another major vulnerability was the state’s financial dependence on international assistance. Nearly 75 percent of Afghanistan’s national budget relied on foreign aid. This dependency, combined with the failure to deeply localize gender equality values within social and cultural structures, made many of the achievements fragile.

Even at the highest symbolic level, cultural resistance remained visible. Zeenat Karzai, the former First Lady of Afghanistan, rarely appeared publicly alongside President Hamid Karzai and explained that Afghan society was not yet culturally prepared for such visibility.