WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said Friday that Afghanistan is reaching a turning point in maintaining the advances made by women in Afghan society and any future security agreement needs to respect the rights of women.
Kerry said Afghan women and girls have made great progress since 2001, enjoying greater access to education, health care and technology. But he said many women in Afghanistan remain concerned that the nation's society could revert back to the repressive days under Taliban control.
"When Afghan women move forward, believe me, they never want to go back, not to the days when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan," Kerry said. He said the achievements of women in Afghanistan "is nothing less than remarkable" and it would be a tragedy if those gains were threatened.
Under Taliban rule, girls were barred from attending school, women were forced to stay indoors and cover their heads and faces with burqas. Kerry, Clinton and former first lady Laura Bush noted during a forum at Georgetown University that Afghan women and girls have made great strides, attending school, serving in their country's legislature and owning their own businesses.
Coalition combat forces are scheduled to leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014 and the U.S. and Afghan government are negotiating a security agreement that will determine whether the U.S. leaves in place a small combat force of between 8,000-12,000 troops after next year to train and advise the Afghans.
