This article examines the relative progress and major setbacks in the education of Afghan women from the end of the Taliban regime until the present, focusing on government and NGO reconstruction efforts. It is argued that these projects promote the agendas of the state and of NGOs over the needs of women and girls. The adversities arising from recent waves of violence affect the female population most acutely. Just when the education sector was making tentative progress, with some girls' schools being built and operating, the current security realities pose major hurdles to post-conflict reconstruction and rebuilding. This is the environment in which Afghan women continue to struggle against the misogynist and fanatically militant elements that have threatened any areas of progress within the rebuilding of the country. As such, security and a reorientation of state and NGO policies are essential preconditions for women's educational attainment.