Women in AfghanistanWomen in Afghanistan were oppressed for many years under the Taliban government. In light of recent events, thanks to the joint efforts of the United States and the Northern Alliance to oust the Taliban, key cities have broken free from the Taliban's stifling control. Here is the photo of a woman revealing her face for the first time in five years, since the Taliban came to power. The future of Afghan women is uncertain. It is clear that changes are needed, but we do not know to what extent. The conditions certainly could not be worse than those imposed on them over the past five years by the extremist Islamic order of the Taliban. Over the past five years, Afghan women have virtually no rights and freedoms. The impact of the Taliban's restrictions was felt most acutely in cities where women enjoyed relatively greater freedoms. In 1996, Kabul University had several thousand female students while thousands of women held various positions in the city. When the Taliban took power, women were not allowed to go to school and others were forced to leave their jobs. The Taliban have issued decrees banning women from working outside the home except in limited circumstances in the medical field. Hardest hit have been the 30,000 widows in Kabul and other places in the country, who are the sole breadwinners of their families. Women and girls were not allowed to leave the house unless they wore a head-to-toe garment called a burqa. A three-inch square opening covered with mesh provides the only means of vision. Although the burqa was worn before Taliban control, it was not an enforced dress code and many women only wore scarves that covered the head. Women were also prohibited from appearing in public with a man who was not a relative. The Taliban militias punish violations of these rules on the spot. For example, women have been beaten in the street if an inch of their ankle shows under their burqa. They are beaten if they move without an explanation acceptable to the Taliban. They were beaten if they made noise while walking. Woman grappling with two young children and groceries in her arms was allegedly beaten by the Taliban with a car antenna because she let her mask slip off her face for a moment, report says..