When the Taliban assumed power in 1996 most women were forbidden from working outside their homes, and they were punished for showing their faces. Many highly educated and skilled women -- deans of universities, government ministers, doctors, teachers and scientists -- fled the country.

The opening of the Badam Bagh agricultural laboratory in Kabul marked an historic reintroduction of agricultural technology to Afghanistan. Funded by USAID, the refurbished Badam Bagh agricultural station is now the site of the first new seed health and quality testing laboratory in Afghanistan. With the oversight of women inspectors like this one, all seeds imported into the country will soon meet certain standards for certification. In this way, women are playing an important role in developing the agricultural sector in Afghanistan. Photo: Jennifer Lindsey/USAID

Now many of them are returning. They, and those who remained behind, are eager to begin jobs and enjoy the freedom they were denied under the Taliban.

With the fall of the Taliban, women began returning to the health care profession, as doctors, nurses and midwives. In rural areas, where clinics are few and far between, thousands of women are being trained as community health workers. It is part of a program to provide basic health services, including vaccinations and assistance during pregnancies and deliveries, to 11 million rural women and young children within three years.

Once again women are playing an important role in Afghanistan's government agencies. With the opening of kindergartens, like this one at the Ministry of Agriculture, women are finding it easier to go back to work. They can focus on their new responsibilities, knowing their children are learning and playing in a safe place nearby. Photo: Gary Cook/USAID

Shima is a supervisor at a newly opened raisin factory in Afghanistan. Like most women, she was banned from work under the Taliban. Now she supervises a team of women, who, like her, are proud to be working again. The raisin factory is one of many projects designed to help women return to work and support their families. Photo: M. Lueders/USAID