Women's situation in Afghanistan

An article reporting on the evolving situation of women in Afghanistan, which got better when the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, but more recently worsened:

"The lives of Afghan women improved dramatically in the first few years after the fall of the Taliban. They were allowed again to leave home unaccompanied, without the burqa, and to go to school and work. However, the struggle for change has faltered, as old attitudes -- fueled by the worsening conflict and resurgent Taliban -- attempt to quash these new freedoms."
"Afghan women have suffered tumultuous changes over the past three decades. Prior to Soviet rule, women -- primarily affluent urbanites -- enjoyed basic rights, access to education and employment. It was a time when fashionable women walked around Kabul in miniskirts. Then came decades of political instability and civil war, followed by the Taliban takeover in 1996. For the next five years, the Taliban beat women on the streets, publicly executed those accused of adultery and denied them a life outside the home. After the Taliban, a number of women's liberties were restored, but since early 2006 a Taliban comeback-accompanied by attacks against women and girls-has renewed fears among women and their families."