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An Expansion of Women's Rights
Amir Amanullah Khan took power in Afghanistan trying to expand women's rights
- Women could vote
- Girls were able to attend school
- Women were encouraged to wear a more western dress. The strict dress code was repressed -
First School for Girls in Kabul and Women's Hospital
Amunallah Khan’s wife, Queen Soraya, opens Afghanistan’s first school for girls in Kabul. During the early 1920s, she also starts a women’s hospital and a magazine called ERshad-E-Niswan (Guidance for Women). The image is of Amunallah Khan and Queen Soraya. -
The Banning of Child Marriage
Khan introduces the Family Code law, which bans child marriage and requires judicial permission for polygamy. -
Guaranteed Equal Rights for Men and Women
Afghanistan creates its first constitution, which abolishes slavery and forced labor, creates a legislature and guarantees secular education and equal rights for men and women. -
Women Are Allowed to Choose Their Own Husband
Khan grants women the right to choose their husbands, previously commonly decided by male relatives. -
End of State-enforced Veiling
During an independence day celebration, women from the royal family appear unveiled, marking the end of state-enforced veiling. -
Women are Allowed to Enter Politics
A new constitution creates a modern democracy with free elections, equal rights, freedom of speech, universal suffrage, and allows women to enter into politics. -
The Banning of Burqas
The PDPA takes over the government, resulting in the banning burqas and raising the minimum age of marriage. -
Encouraged to Further Their Education
The PDPA government, led by leftist Babrak Karmal, encourages women “to further their education and to take jobs, often in the government.” -
The Taliban Stripes Women of Their Rights
The Taliban, one of the rivaling Mujaheddin groups, gain power and stripes the women of all their rights. Girls are no longer allowed to go to school, and women are forbidden to work outside their home and to leave the house without male company. If they do not wear a burqa, the most extreme form of facial veiling, in public, they are beaten or whiplashed. -
The Taliban Falls
The last Taliban stronghold in Kandahar falls. Taliban rule ends as U.S. and British forces sweep across Afghanistan. That is a photo of the Taliban being forced to leave. -
Equal Rights are Given Again
A new constitution gives equal rights to men and women. -
Women Vote for the First Time in Decades
Despite unrest, Afghanistan holds its first democratic elections and, for the first time in decades, women are allowed to vote. Hamid Karzai, who is backed by the U.S., wins 55% of the vote. -
No Personal Freedom
Karzai’s government passes the Shia Family Law, which requires women to ask permission to leave the home unless under urgent business and allows a man to have sexual relations with his wife even if she objects. After international backlash, Karzai says he’ll overturn the law if it’s found to contradict the constitution or Islamic law. -
Withdrawal of International Troops
Newly elected President Ashraf Ghani appoints three women as ministers of his cabinet. His wife, Rula, is regarded as a dedicated fighter for women’s rights and education. In November, the withdrawal of the NATO troops begins as planned. -
Taliban Regaining Strength?
Clearly, the Afghan police and military forces are not (yet) capable of filling the vacuum left by the decreasing NATO presence. The Taliban regain strength, and the means of their guerilla war, such as suicide attacks, become a part of everyday life again. At the end of the year, radical forces control around 30% of the country – more than ever after 2001. -
The Most Dangerous Country for Women
Afghanistan was named the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman.
