Distribution of rural and urban women in Afghanistan

However, improvements were not equally distributed throughout the country. While women in urban areas benefited from the numerous programmes, many rural women, estimated to account for 76 % of the female population of Afghanistan in 2017, did not see the same change in their daily lives, since formal legal provisions were rarely implemented. Moreover, in many rural areas, women suffered from intensifying fighting between local militias, the Taliban and government forces supported by the US-led alliance, which undermined development efforts, impeded access to education and healthcare, and led to high civilian casualties. A sizeable share of these women prioritised peace, even on the Taliban’s terms. Some perceived the Taliban as being able to offer a higher level of security by reducing the sexual predation, assaults and robberies that had seriously affected women’s lives in some areas since 2001. Nevertheless, even these who credited the Taliban for increasing security in the late 1990s, often did not favour its notorious record on ultra-conservative views on women.