♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, terrorists striking the heart of afghanistan. targeting the vulnerable and defiant, girls going to school. >> these military extremist groups want to demonstrate that no other girls should dare to go to school. they target our future. >> now the wave of uncertainty left in the wake of u.s. troops leaving. >> extremist groups in afghanistan are emboldened. with the u.s. departure, the gloves will completely come off. >> and faces of courage. the students defying extremism, daring to dream. >> there's positive things. our education will change everything.

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♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. tonight, as u.s. troops draw down from afghanistan, the country grappling with an uptick in terrorism. the deadliest attack so far this year happening just days ago at

a school, targeting girls. here's abc's ian pannell. >> reporter: this is not a battlefield. these are not soldiers. this is a school. these are children. dozens of them dead. more than 100 hurt. most of them girls who dared to get an education. which are which are. >> reporter: in afghanistan, even that can get you killed. in a war without boundaries. once again the country risks a descent into chaos. four bombings in just ten days pulling at the seams of a fragile nation. >> it's a devastating situation for a woman and girls in

afghanistan. especially for those who actually stood with these common values of democracy, education, liberties. >> reporter: it's been said many times that afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, but more accurately, it's the land of graveyards. america and afghanistan were joined at the hip by the events of 9/11. but as america plans to leave, 20 years on, it's the afghans who have done most of the suffering, most of the dying, and there's a real sense of foreboding about what the future now brings. every face tells a story. a life cut short. a dream unfulfilled. just some of the thousands who perished in terrorist attacks. this is the reality of

afghanistan. another attack. another cycle of sorrow and turmoil. anger, pain, and grief hang heavy over the victims' families. >> reporter: the carnage at the sayid al shadarta school in kabul. the deadliest attack so far this year. more than 85 people were killed. at least 147 wounded. and the target? teenage schoolgirls. those who survived this terrible day have physical and mental scars that will never heal.

>> reporter: the afghan government claim blame the taliban for the attack, but the militants deny involvement, even going so far as to condemn the violence, calling for a three-day cease-fire. the bombing was likely perpetrated by an organization like the islamic state's local affiliate, islamic state khorasan province. the target suggests the fact that it's a girls school suggests that extremist groups in afghanistan are emboldened, are likely to be more emboldened. they include groups like al qaeda, the islamic state, even the taliban itself. >> reporter: the taliban ruled afghanistan with an iron fist in the 1990s. an oppressive fundamentalist regime steeped in an extreme

interpretation of islamic sharia law. at that same time, al qaeda relocated back to afghanistan, led by osama bin laden. in this afghanistan, the taliban placed a chokehold on its citizens, especially women, who were denied even basic rights. banned from school and most jobs. >> i cannot talk about women's rights. it's collapsed. >> reporter: intolerance and extremism were lethal bedfellows. plaguing the country, but becoming an ever-greater threat to americans everywhere, and eventually the u.s. homeland. after 9/11, the united states invaded this country to find osama bin laden. and dismantle his al qaeda forces and the taliban who sheltered them. it became america's longest war. 20 years of fighting.

costing the lives of nearly 50,000 afghan civilians and more than 2,400 american service members. as u.s. troops now withdraw, what's left behind is a gathering storm of instability. >> the taliban/al qaeda relationship remains unbroken. i would not expect that to worsen over the course of a u.s. withdrawal, but to strengthen. they're going to believe they're winning, and in a sense they are. we should expect to see the taliban continue to work with a range of different terrorist organizations in afghanistan. >> reporter: more than 1,700 afghan civilians have lost their lives in the first three months of this year alone. and the threat of terrorist groups like al qaeda and isis fester in the shadows. the taliban signed a deal with the united states, but not with the afghan government.

and these local troops are now the last line of defense. >> i think the unconditional withdrawal message that was announced by president biden certainly emboldened the military extremists. they are preparing to come back in any ways they can. not only taliban, but other military extremist groups. >> reporter: fazikoofi, one of afghanistan's leading political figures, a champion for the nation and its women and a vocal critic of the militants. >> hello, fazia. good morning. >> reporter: we met her in kabul two weeks ago to see the progress women and girls have made in the two decades since america invaded and how the withdrawal threatens to undo that. the taliban regard what is happening as victory for them. is this defeat for the women and girls of afghanistan? >> it is. it is. we have tried in the past three

years to take destiny in our hands, our destiny, and be responsible and be part of those major decisions that usually women have not been a part of that. >> reporter: her crusade has also made her a target. last year, gunmen attempted to assassinate here in a high-speed car chase. her daughter right next to her. the second attempt on her life. >> they removed bullets from here. it was hip, from here, all the way went to here. i spend two weeks in the hospital and went to the negotiations with my hand in cast. >> reporter: she's one of the few women who's been negotiating with the taliban on behalf of her government, trying to broker peace, to gash fuarantee rights women in her country. >> when you are in the room with a group 20 years back did not consider women equal class citizens of this country, to negotiate with them to allow you to run for presidency, to allow you to go to school, to allow you to have a job with dignity,

to allow you to go out of your home without judging on your appearance -- that is not easy, but my hope was at least it's not violent. we are negotiating, we are talking, we are using the power of words over the bullets. since last year when we started the negotiations, 400 women have been targeted, killed, through assassinations. >> can i ask? targeted because they're women? targeted because they're empowered? they have a voice? >> they're targeted for both. >> reporter: and in the wake of the recent attacks, killing so many young girls, she's warning there will be more to come. >> it will continue. because it's a kind of no one's responsibility game. nobody takes the responsibility. there is no investigation by our government to clearly let the public know who is behind this. >> reporter: why target young girls, innocent, going to school? >> these military extremist

groups have always been against girls' education. by targeting such innocent girls, going to school or getting out of school, they want to terrorize the society. they want to demonstrate thatno on the record girls should dare to go to school. they're targeting the soft power of society, the younger generation, the educated part of our society. they target our future. >> reporter: remarkably, despite what can seem like the endless shedding of blood, life, and hope, even in the wake of such utter devastation, there's still defiance, resilience, determination.

>> reporter: when we come back -- >> if o generation, we girls, will be educated.tudying, well a these are positive things. our education will change everything. >> what's at stake for the girls of afghanistan? truthfully, it's frustrating to see how fast dust reappears. but dusting with a cloth is a pain. and dealing with a bulky vacuum.. . is such a hassle. uchhh!!! so now we use our swiffer sweeper and dusters. the fluffy fibers? they pick up dust easily. grabbing it in all those hard-to-reach places. gotcha!!! and for our floors, sweeper's textured cloths lock all kinds of dirt, dust and pet hair. unlike my vacuum, it sneaks under and around places. look at that!! dust free and hassle free. stop cleaning and start swiffering. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible with rybelsus®. ♪ you are my sunshine ♪

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so we are making our traditional food. >> reporter: there's a delicate art to making belani. >> when she cuts in half and turn it back, it turns like a half circle. >> reporter: a dash of salt, flour, some chives, some potato, rolled with love and care. >> you're blessed to have so many daughters. is it good? or it needs more honey? she wants more sweetness? >> she likes sweet. >> reporter: the meal is traditional. their lives are anything but. amina and salah mohammad's daughter live in stark contrast to generations of daughters before them. >> why is it so important to you that your daughters have a good education? >> because there is no difference between boy and girl for me. they are equal. and sometimes they can do better than the boys. >> it's our generation, so we girls, we boys, that we are

studying, we all are growing all together. we all will be educated. these are positive things. our education will change everything. >> reporter: but that future now at risk as u.s. troops withdraw from their country, control her. >> your daughter, they said they were worried abouthe the americans leave, will the schools still be open? will the taliban come? are you worried? or are you confident about the future? >> oh, you've got the eiffel tower on the shelf. >> reporter: madea and mastora are like any other teenage girls. i met them two weeks ago, their vision of the world full of wonder, minds overflowing with imagination. >> oh, that's lovely.

>> i have drawn this with pen. >> it's very good. >> reporter: dreams of a different life far away from home. >> i would like to go to canada for studying university. because i heard that they are respecting of other people so much. >> oh, wow, very dark. >> and that's me, because two years ago i cut my hair like this, like one side was like boy's. >> did you? >> other side was like girl's. >> and were your parents happy with this? >> yes, they didn't have any problem. they don't have any problem with what i'm happy with. >> reporter: simple joy rooted in a complex history. the taliban suppressed women's rights and education for decades. in areas they still control, women have been beaten in public in recent years, stripped of their dignity. this is the reality of life under the taliban. over the last 20 years, the u.s.

occupation of afghanistan mitigated the taliban's power, giving rise to a new afghanistan. one where many women and girls are now free to pursue an education and enter the workforce, after years of exclusion. the dreams mastora and madea share forged in these classrooms. >> my wish is to rise the women's voice. really what i want is to be a very -- a well-known journalist. i will go for interview in front of the boss, and if he asks me that, what is the main reason, what is the main wish of you here, i will tell him, i want to sit in that chair where you are sitting. i really want that. >> reporter: this is what the taliban fears. open books. raised hands. questions, opinions, learning. a generation of young girls empowered. what are your hopes for the future? >> i want to learn the politics,

law, to help my country. >> you want to be a politician? >> yes. >> president? >> no. >> reporter: the gains unimaginable for so long, but fragile. now hanging in the balance as american forces begin to withdraw from afghanistan. girls and women here have the most to lose. their futures, afghanistan's future, uncertain once more. >> if they told the regime to go, everything, all of our minds, all of our hopes would be closed. >> afghanistan has had 40 years of war. do you believe there will be a time of peace? >> i'm really hopeful that peace should come. but if there is the taliban, there will not be any peace, i'm sure, about it. if we educate, if we study, if we have the power of pen, so

there will be peace. >> our thanks to ian. we'll be right back with "the final note." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ comfort in the extreme. ♪ the lincoln family of luxury suvs. ♪ you try to stay ahead of the mess but scrubbing still takes time. the lincoln family of luxury suvs. now there's dawn powerwash dish spray. it's the faster way to clean as you go. just spray, wipe and rinse. it cleans grease five times faster. dawn powerwash now available in free & clear. start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal,

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finally tonight, after the recent bombing targeting schoolgirls in kabul, our team reached out to the parents of madea and mastua. the father told us his daughters responded with this question. why would a school be targeted? we're students, not soldiers. a haunting question indeed. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.