Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, school attendance has increased 500 per cent. Of Afghanistan’s 5.1 million students, 1.7 million are girls. There remain seven million Afghan children who are not in school, the majority of them are girls.

Prohibited and limited access to healthcare and education, violence and early marriage continue to be part of cultural and social reasons why the rights of women and girls are violated throughout this region. These intimate portraits reveal the daily reality of women and girls in Afghanistan. On November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, remember the women and girls of Afghanistan. Photos and Text by Mary Kate MacIsaac.