page_title: Women in Afghanistan
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Women in Afghanistan / Overview
caption_attribution_description: Afghanistan, Shibar Pass (Shebar Pass, Kowtal-e Shebar): Menschen; Frauen beim Weben an einem Flachwebstuhl
context_page_description: Women's rights in Afghanistan have been varied throughout history. Women officially gained equality under the 1964 constitution. However these rights were taken away in the 1990s through different temporary rulers such as the Taliban during civil war. Especially during the latter's rule, women had very little to no freedom, specifically in terms of civil liberties. Ever since the Taliban regime was removed in late 2001, women's rights have gradually improved under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and women are once again de jure equal to men under the 2004 constitution, which was largely based on that from 1964. However, their rights are still complicated by a reactionary view on women by certain classes of school, particularly ruralites, which continue to cause international concern.
context_section_description: Afghanistan's population is roughly 34 million. Of these, 15 million are male and 14.2 million are female. About 22% of the Afghan people are urbanite and the remaining 78% live in rural areas. As part of local tradition, most women are married soon after completing high school. Many live as housewives for the remainder of their lives.
  Some Rulers of Afghanistan have consistently attempted to increase women's freedom. For the most part, these attempts were unsuccessful. However, there were a few leaders who were able to make some significant changes. Among them was King Amanullah, who ruled from 1919 to 1929 and made some of the more noteworthy changes in an attempt to unify as well as modernize the country. He, along with other rulers following him, promoted freedom for women in the public sphere in order to lessen the control that patriarchal families exerted over women. King Amanullah stressed the importance of female education. Along with encouraging families to send their daughters to school, he promoted the unveiling of women and persuaded them to adopt a more western style of dress. In 1921, he created a law that abolished forced marriage, child marriage, and bride price, and put restrictions on polygamy, a common practice among households in the Afghanistan region. Over time these restrictions became nearly impossible to enforce.
  Modern social reform for Afghan women began when Queen Soraya, wife of King Amanullah, made rapid reforms to improve women's lives and their position in the family. She was the only woman to appear on the list of rulers in Afghanistan and was credited with having been one of the first and most powerful Afghan and Muslim female activists. Queen Soraya, along with her husband's, advocacy of social reforms for women led to a protest and contributed to the ultimate demise of her and her husband's reign in 1929.
  Successors Mohammed Nadir Shah and Mohammed Zahir Shah acted more cautiously, but nevertheless worked for the moderate and steady improvement of women's rights Throughout the 20th century, men maintained over women. Following the election of Mohammed Daoud Khan as Prime Minister in 1953, social reforms giving women a more public presene were encouraged. One of his aims was to break free from the ultra-conservative, Islamist tradition of treating women as second-class citizens. During his time, he made significant advances towards modernization. Small numbers of women were able to hold jobs as scientists, teachers, doctors, and civil servants, and they had a considerable amount of freedom with significant educational opportunities.
  The 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan granted women equal rights including universal suffrage and the right to run for office. However, the majority of women continued to be excluded from these opportunities, as these reforms had little effect outside of cities. The countryside was a deeply patriarchal, tribal society.
  In 1977, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) was founded by Meena Keshwar Kamal. Her office was moved to Quetta in Pakistan, where she was assassinated in 1987. RAWA still operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
caption: Women weaving on a loom in Afghanistan, c. 1939; women have traditionally performed weaving work in the country
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