Afghanistan falls in the list of the countries where women are not only denied their rights but also are subjected to extreme forms of violence. The annoying point is that anguish of the Afghan women has gone increasing with each passing year.During the Taliban rule, women were punished and even executed in public for unjustifiable and minor reasons. Unfortunately, the practice has not ended, as the Taliban’s Shariah is still valid in many parts of Afghanistan where the Government Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) has failed to extend its writ despite support from International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

In the districts where Taliban have more control and influence, people are punished in accordance with Shariah – a clear challenge to GIRoA. In addition, a big portion of Afghan population has resembling mentality as that of Taliban which has resulted in the sufferings of Afghan women to become manifold.Majority of Afghan women must wear burqa while out of home. Afghan women’s burqa is unique covering all parts of their body. Such a strict hijab is not observed in most of the Islamic countries. Since 2001, the insurgents have been using the burqas to launch terror attacks.

Article number 22 of the Constitutional Law of Afghanistan sates, “The citizens of Afghanistan man and woman have equal rights and duties before the law.” But in practice, such a thing is not observable, as in Afghanistan man is considered superior than woman and women have to follow the rules defined by men not by government.  

With the imminent withdrawal of international forces, there is a risk that the government might sacrifice women's rights in order to secure a political deal with the Taliban and other armed opposition groups. In that case, not only the hard-earned achievements of women will be lost but also the condition would reverse.For women life cannot change until they have not the same rights as men in making decisions at family to national levels. Such a condition will never triumph in Afghanistan, unless democracy is strong and law and justice govern it.It has to be seen how the Afghan governmentthat has been blowing trumpets of democracy and women rights will work to protect Afghanistan from once again falling in the hand of extremists who have been violent to women.