Poll: 72% of Afghan women think their lives are better now after the US invasion

As foreign troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, efforts are being made to reach some sort of accommodation with the Taliban. According to a new survey of Afghan women by Action Aid, they fear it is their rights that are about to be bargained away.
There are surprises in the survey results. While it's unsurprising that women fear the consequences of a return to a Taliban-style regime, the fact that 86% of them do so is eye-catching. The notion that intervention in Afghanistan has done nothing but make a bad situation worse is a commonplace one in the West, indeed one I leant towards myself. That 72% of Afghan women think their lives are better now than they were 10 years ago is, for me, an unexpected perspective.

ActionAid has also carried out a rare survey of 1,000 women in Afghanistan – one of the very few times that Afghan women have been asked their opinion on the
last 10 years of war and a possible Taliban return to power. It reveals that 72% of Afghan women believe their lives are better now than they were 10 years ago, while 37% think Afghanistan will become a worse place if international troops leave. A massive 86% are worried about a return to Taliban-style government,
with one in five citing their daughter’s education as the main concern.

You can see a short film about the survey report here. See also the new Amnesty UK campaign to ensure negotiations are not at the expense of women's rights (only works for UK citizens).