KABUL, Afghanistan - Shahgol Shah was married off when she was just 11 years old. She never went to school and spent her life raising seven children.

Today, Shah, who is 50, does not leave home without a male relative. In public, she wears a burka, a long gown covering her entire body for modesty. Her face is hidden behind a veil. Shah obeys Afghan customs, she says.

Her daughter, Ghazalan Koofi, lives a life her mother could never have imagined. She goes out by herself, working for the government during the day and attending university at night. Koofi, 28, speaks perfect English and has never worn a burka. She dresses stylishly but modestly. Her wavy black hair peeks out from under a head scarf.

Koofi demands the respect of her male coworkers. She treasures her "love marriage" with the husband she chose for herself. Most Afghan marriages are arranged by families, like her parents' marriage. Often the couple has not met before getting married.

Koofi's husband calls her "a very brave woman." He helps with housework and caring for their baby son. Some of his male friends think men shouldn't help out around the house. They see it as weak and shameful.

"Those Terrible Days"

Koofi was a teenager when the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. The U.S. went to war against the Taliban because the Taliban gave help to Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against the United States. Women had no freedom under the Taliban. They weren't allowed to attend school. They had to wear the burka in public. And they couldn't go outside without a male relative. With the Taliban gone, women gained more freedom.

But U.S. combat troops are leaving Afghanistan next year. And Koofi and other Afghan women worry that the Taliban will take over. Their new freedoms might disappear.

"We are entering a very dangerous period for women," says Koofi. "I'm very worried that we will return to those terrible days."

Shukriya Matin was in grade school when her family ran from the Taliban in 1996. She was beaten for not properly covering her hair in public.

For six long years, she was a low-paid child carpet weaver in Pakistan. Now 26, she runs a program at a Kabul hospital.

Her mother, Zahra Matin, 52, was engaged at 9 and married at 13. She never learned to read. Zahra Matin dreams of her granddaughter attending college.

But she worries the Taliban will come back and destroy their dreams.

An Insecure Future

The freedoms of Afghan women are again threatened. A law passed in 2009 was supposed to stop violence against women, but it is usually ignored. And the Afghan official for human rights wants to get rid of the law. Violent crimes against women have reached record levels.

Afghanistan is still a traditional Islamic country. Some village girls as young as 9 or 10 are forced by their families to marry much older men. Girls who flee arranged marriages are often hunted down by their families. They are sometimes beaten and even killed.

There have been clear gains since the overthrow of the Taliban. Women now have the right to vote. Some women serve as lawmakers, and have joined the army and police. There are 150 female judges.

Under the Taliban, the only education for girls was in secret home schools, which were forbidden. Today, 3 million girls attend school. But that's still only 4 of every 10 school-age girls.

In the last six months, four Afghan policewomen have been killed. Female government officials are regularly threatened or killed.

Fawzia Koofi is an Afghan lawmaker. She is also Ghazalan Koofi's aunt. When the Taliban ruled over the country, she taught at a secret school for girls. She has been threatened with death. Yet, she plans to run for president in 2018.

The future for women is not secure, Fawzia Koofi said. Freedoms can easily be taken away.