Female Afghan Soldiers Face a Battle on All Fronts
The number of female recruits is plummeting and the future of Afghan women in the forces is far from certain
Afghanistan’s national forces are at the forefront of the war against the Taliban and other insurgent groups, and the reality on the ground is sobering: the soldiers are outnumbered by the Taliban in their outposts, casualties are high, and the body count (on both sides) increases daily. According to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, an estimated 45,000 security force personnel have been killed since 2014. Soldiers work long hours for low wages — often paid late — and are underequipped, with insufficient weapons and supplies to defend the provinces.
With low recruitment levels, rising numbers of casualties, and relentless territorial gains by the Taliban and armed opposition groups, the strength of the Afghan forces is now at its lowest level in four years, according to the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
Two years ago, Kabul’s military training academy churned out enthusiastic recruits, eager to serve in the forces and proud to be part of the effort to secure their country. The once bustling female dormitories offered a safe space for divorcées and widows in training and even offered to house…
