By hearing the name of ‘Afghanistan,’ images of war, killings and violence start circulating in one’s mind. Although conflicts still continue, with the intervention of international community many things in the lives of Afghan people have changed or changing. Afghanistan was the worst place for a mother to be but now it has been replaced. Better healthcare and more girls attending schools have knocked Afghanistan from its position as the worst place on earth to be a mother, Save the Children said in a major report last week, but stressed the precarious nature of any gains.

Afghanistan switched places with Niger in western Africa in Save the Children’s ‘Mothers’ Index’, which fell back to bottom place, a spot Afghanistan occupied for the past two years. This was partly achieved by the number of births attended by trained professionals in Afghanistan rising from 14 percent to 24 percent between 2003 and 2008, and girls in formal education, which has gone from zero in 2001 to 2.5 million today.

The report comes at times when Afghanistan is standing at an important juncture where the international troops are withdrawing and Afghan security forces are being handed more security responsibilities. Meanwhile, the Afghan government is trying to resolve the war through negotiations with Taliban leadership. These all are deemed vital for Afghanistan but grave concerns over losing the 10-year gains in various fields including women rights persist.

Insurgents are continuing their anti-education campaign. Over the last few years certain girls’ schools have been attacked with poisonous gases, bombs or have been burnt. School going girls have been attacked with acid on their faces. While, in several districts where Taliban have strong hold, children remain deprived from attending schools. Recently, the Taliban caused closure of about 119 schools in central Ghazni province challenging the writ of Hamid Karzai’s government.

Afghanistan’s education sector can nurture well, if threats could be lifted from over the people’s head. Nonetheless, major political changes and full withdrawal of NATO troops that will take place in years to come can put Afghanistan’s future stability and so-far gains in a very uncertain position.