Citizens are supposed to exercise their rights and freedoms without fear under democratic administrations. Their votes will elect president in a fair and transparent election. Parliament, the beating heart of democracy, will represent the true will and determination of a nation. A country’s moral standards, social norms and cultural values will be mirrored in their constitution. All citizens will be equal in the eye of law irrespective of their racial, sexual or any other accidental backgrounds.
Violence should have no room within a democratic system and citizen’s life is highly expensive. The main reason behind establishing law is to protect citizens’ fundamental rights and prevent from anomy. Whenever one violates the rights of citizens, they have to be prosecuted – be it an ordinary individual or a high-ranking official. Hence, discriminating one on the basis of their social and political status will be a blow to democracy. Therefore, every citizen will be equal in the eye of law. 
One will find no barriers to practice their freedoms, mainly freedoms of thoughts and expressions. Civil society will monitor the state, on behalf of the nation, to make sure that law is enforced justly and challenge unjust and impolitic exercises of the state. Media and civil society would be given the rights to raise their voice against any social harms and anti-law performances done by state or an individual.
In a democratic system, division of powers is a significant issue. To decentralize power for preventing from authoritarianism, legislative, executive and judicial powers should be established and all the powers have to work independently. Needless to say, when all powers are centralized under single authority, the power-holder will show tendency towards atrocity and violate the rights and freedoms of citizens.
In post-Taliban Afghanistan, democracy have taken root to some extent and Afghan Constitution was approved by people’s representatives in Loya Jirga on January 3, 2004. The Constitution recognizes the natural and unalienable rights of people and their freedoms. As a result, Article 24 states, “Liberty is the natural right of human beings. This right has no limits unless affecting others freedoms as well as the public interest, which shall be regulated by law. Liberty and human dignity are inviolable. The state shall respect and protect liberty as well as human dignity.” Similarly, freedom of expression and freedom of thoughts are also supported by law. “Freedom of expression shall be inviolable. Every Afghan shall have the right to express thoughts through speech….” Moreover, the Constitution denies all kinds of discrimination and views all citizens equal. To put it succinctly, Afghan Constitution is based on democratic theories and recognizes United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
After the collapse of the Taliban’s regime, girls’ schools were re-opened and women took active part in social, cultural and political arenas. A number of women gained significant posts. In short, the relative freedoms and nascent democracy have been significant for women’s progress.
Despite all the facts, democracy encounters serious challenges in Afghanistan. One of the main obstacles to the nascent democracy is warring factions. The Taliban fighters have inflict heavy casualties upon Afghan combatants and civilians and trampled upon their rights and liberties flagrantly. That is, life has turned cheap and the blood of citizens, including that of women and children, is shed without concern.
Meanwhile, administrative corruption is a barrier to democracy and law enforcement. Afghanistan’s reputation has been damaged at the international level due to administrative corruption since the country is wrestling with corruption for about two decades.
Although citizens are equal constitutionally, a large number of strongmen and officials break the law with impunity. In another item, the law is approved in the best way, however, it is not enforced properly. The judicial and executive systems are not parallel to legislative system. 
The government’s recent seriousness in prosecuting the strongmen and restricting their power is praised by Afghan citizens and generated optimism for the law enforcement. Indeed, this issue will not be resolved overnight, but the government is expected to continue implementing the law strictly and treating all people equally.
However, the recent escalated violence by the Taliban has filled the public air with strong sense of disappointment and leaves little room for the implementation of law. Civilians lose their lives as a result of the Taliban’s intensified attacks, which is a flagrant violation of national laws and international instruments. War crime has increased and militants are engaged in genocide. If this trend continues, and the international community plays the role of spectator, the consequences will be much horrible.