The organization previously excluded women from secondary education, as well as banned them from visiting parks, gyms and public pools, and obliged them to wear head-to-toe burqas when going out.
Critics and women's rights activists assume Afghanistan, which has been torn by conflicts between different terrorist groups for decades now, is rapidly moving away from the idea of women's empowerment.
Today, it may come as a surprise to some that years ago, the situation in Afghanistan was quite different: Afghan women weren't obliged to cover their faces or wear long garments unless they themselves decided to do so, they could join girls' scouting organizations and even rule the country.
See for yourself in our photo gallery.
*under UN sanctions
