Back then, Ruzbehan served as a doctor’s assistant in a Taliban military hospital. She saw women whose hands had been cut off, brought in for treatment by Taliban commanders proud of their abuse.

For a time, there was a fear that women who dropped out of the job market might not return. ... More reliable, in-person schooling has likely freed some women to go back to work.

MAANI: Ana tells us in her podcast that it wasn't an easy decision to go back. (SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "MIDWAY THROUGH") A BASSETT: I had doubts about doing this at my age.

Women now make up more than half of medical students but only about 37% of ... female physicians often feel forced to work part time, ... I made the switch — and I’m not going back.

The organization’s volunteers holding a banner that says “We won’t go back” at the start of the rally. This year’s event came at a potentially historic moment in which a woman could occupy the Oval ...