Afghanistan History Recent history
In December 2004, Hamid Karzai became the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan. NATO began rebuilding Afghanistan, including its military and government institutions. Many schools and colleges were built in the last ten years. Freedom for women improved, they can study, work, drive and run for offices. Many Afghan women work as politicians, some are ministers while at least one is a mayor. Others have opened businesses, or joined the military or police. Afghanistan's over-all economy has also improved dramatically and NATO states had agreed in 2012 to help the country for at least another 10 years after 2014. In the meantime, Afghanistan improved diplomatic ties with many countries in the world and continues to establish new ties with other states.