Afghanistan women got the right to vote before the U.S. What happened?

Women of Afghanistan: They got the right to vote before American women. How has so much changed?

What you probably already know: Women are being erased from public life in Afghanistan as the country’s de facto rulers systematically strip away their basic human rights. If you struggle to remember a time when Afghan women weren’t repressed, that would be understandable. But it wasn’t always this way — the country was, for a time, quite progressive. The early 20th century ushered in significant gains: Afghan women became eligible to vote in 1919 (a year earlier than women in the United States), the first school for girls opened the following year, and strict gender segregation and veiling practices were abolished in 1950. Constitutional changes in 1964 went so far as to grant women the right to run for office. But the train to progress started hitting snags in 1978, then completely derailed in the 1990s. 

Why? A coup in 1978 roped Afghanistan into Cold War politics. The start of the country’s communist era brought about some advances in women’s rights, such as mandatory schooling for girls in both urban and rural areas, but that progress, in part, engendered resistance among conservative Islamic and ethnic populations. The ensuing conflict led to a long civil war, during which women’s rights were not prioritized and hard-earned freedoms began to unravel. Rebel groups eventually wrested control, paving the way for a new militant organization to rise to power by 1995 — the Taliban. 

What it means: Afghans are now subjected to similar circumstances that were in place during the Taliban’s first rule, which ended in late 2001 as the U.S.-led military invasion prompted by the 9/11 attacks replaced Taliban control with a new government. Gains made in the past two decades — including the return of parliamentary elections and a new constitution prioritizing gender equality — fell by the wayside when the U.S. withdrew its troops in 2021 and the Taliban resumed control. Immediately, life became less safe for women and girls. Though many Afghans hoped Taliban leadership would be different this time, increasingly restrictive edicts issued over the past few years have now essentially imprisoned women in their own homes. 

What happens now: Surviving in the shadows is not an acceptable baseline. People around the world are calling for change in Afghanistan, including Afghan women who speak out at great personal peril, but the situation continues to decline. Over the coming month, we will dive into this important situation through a new series exploring the realities of life in Afghanistan from the perspectives of women who lived there, the future they’re fighting for, and ways all of us can help create a better future.