In Pictures: The women and girls of Afghanistan

A young Afghan woman shows her face in public as she awaits at a food distribution centre in central Kabul November 14, 2001.

A female soccer player controls a ball during a training session at the Golab Trust Sports Complex in Kabul on March 10, 2014.

Students inside a classroom in Mazar e Sharif, Afghanistan, in 2005.

Farahnaz Forotan, 26, an Afghan journalist, poses for a picture in Kabul, Afghanistan April 3, 2019.

Afghan women walk past a poster of Sabrina Saqib in Kabul, the youngest women contestant in the Afghan Parliamentary elections in 2005.

Afghan girls cover their faces as they ride on swings during the first day of the Muslim holiday of the Eid al-Adha, in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2019.

Young girls with naan strike a pose in Panjsher valley, Afghanistan.

Girls, part of Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC), participate in a juggling competition in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 12, 2015. The MMCC, founded by David Mason from Denmark, teaches cooperation and creativity to children scarred by years of war in Afghanistan. Despite the dangers, the project has grown so popular that it now runs centres in ten provinces and has hundreds of regular students. The circus makes visits to internally displaced person camps, schools, orphanages and holds annual festivals. The children are taught the skills of juggling clubs, walking on stilts and acrobatics—students inside a classroom in Mazar e Sharif, Afghanistan, in 2005.

Afghan students attend a commencement ceremony at Kabul University April 13, 2008.

Burqa clad women walks past a billboard put up on the wall of a beauty salon in Kabul on August 7, 2021.

Female soldiers Mohazama Najebi, 18 (R), and Sahar Ibrahimi, 25 (L), from the Afghan National Army (ANA) pose for a picture after shooting exercises at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan October 26, 2016.

An Afghan girl practices a traditional dance at an Afghan Child Education and Care Organization center (AFCECO) in Kabul, Afghanistan March 3, 2019.

Afghan women take pictures during an election rally in support of their President Hamid Karzai in Kandahar province August 16, 2009.

Afghan girls work at the first women-only Internet cafe in Kabul March 8, 2012.

An Afghan girl stands among widows clad in burqas during a cash for work project by humanitarian organisation CARE International in Kabul January 6, 2010.

Khatira Ahmadi (R), 20, producer of Zan TV station (women's TV), adjusts the headscarf of a presenter before recording in Kabul, Afghanistan May 8, 2017.

Hanifa Doosti (C), 17, and other students of the Shaolin Wushu club show their Wushu skills to other students on a hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan January 29, 2017.

Afghan girls watch a performance during a mine awareness ceremony organized by the Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACCA) in Kabul February 23, 2010.

Female Afghan National Police (ANP) officers aim their weapons during a drill at a training centre near the German Bundeswehr army camp Marmal in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan December 11, 2012.

Afghan women practise inside a boxing club in Kabul December 26, 2011.

Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed performs during a "Peace Concert" organised by a youth organisation in Kabul October 19, 2013.

Members of Afghan robotics girls team, which was denied entry into the United States for a competition, work on their robots in Herat province, Afghanistan July 4, 2017.

Female students of American University of Afghanistan hug each other as they arrive for new orientation sessions at the school in Kabul, Afghanistan March 27, 2017.

Shamsia Alizada, 18, who topped the country's university entrance exam, poses for a picture after an interview at her house in Kabul, Afghanistan September 25, 2020.

Afghan female engineers work on a map of the ruined Darul Aman palace in Kabul, Afghanistan October 2, 2016.

Noor Zia, 40, poses for a photograph with her daughter Saba Ahmadi, 11, at their home in Kabul February 13, 2014. Noor, who is a teacher, studied until she was 28. Her ambition was to become a doctor, but she couldn't afford the fees. She hopes her daughter will become a well-known, highly skilled doctor. Saba wants to go to university, and would like to become a renowned lawyer.

Fakria Azizi, a member of the Zohra orchestra, an ensemble of 35 women, practises during a session at Afghanistan's National Institute of Music in Kabul, Afghanistan April 4, 2016.

Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed "Afghan Girl" who was photographed by Steve McCurry in 1985 in National Geographic and became a symbol of her country's wars, arrives to meet with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani in Kabul, Afghanistan November 9, 2016.

Masooma Alizada, a member of Afghanistan's Women's National Cycling Team walks with her bicycle in Kabul February 20, 2015.

Female Afghan National Army (ANA) officers attend their graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Centre August 24, 2014.

Robina Jelali, an Afghan candidate for the parliamentary election speaks on her phone at her office in Kabul September 7, 2010. The 25-year-old is an ex-Olympic runner and head of a women's charity in Kabul.

An Afghan woman holds up her ink-stained finger after voting at a polling station in Kabul June 14, 2014.