"Escape from Kabul: The Afghan Women Judges Who Fled the Taliban and Those They Left Behind," by Karen Bartlett
Across 20 years of U.S.-backed government, Afghan women obtained legal degrees, became judges, and set out to transform their country—tackling corruption, challenging traditional gender norms, and reducing horrifying levels of violence against women and children. These educated and powerful women led the mission to build Afghanistan as a modern democracy that respected the rule of law and human rights.
Their work, however, posed an existential threat to everything the Taliban believed in—and when the United States withdrew in August 2021, the women judges of Afghanistan faced mortal danger.
