In a little corner of Afghanistan, women are driving cars, working in public office and police stations, and even holding the title of governor. Their progress is an enormous step for the country where women and girls traditionally are the most disadvantaged in society.

Far from the clutches of the Taliban insurgency, Bamian, Afghanistan, has prospered in the six years of relative peace that has followed the fall of the Taliban there. The New York Times reports that as order and rule of law came to the town, women have found freedom to push the boundaries of traditional societal roles.

Most of the locals are ethnic Hazaras, Shiite Muslims who are more open to the idea of women working outside the home. The Times reports that the women’s progress has broader possibilities for women in general, especially if peace can be secured.

Increasing hardship such as rising food prices and unemployment is also forcing women – many of whom are illiterate and/or have been victims of abduction, rape, arranged marriage and who weren’t even allowed to leave the house without a male companion under the Taliban’s rule – to join the workforce. Many were afraid to take their first jobs.

"I received some threats by telephone," said Nahida Rezai, 25, the first woman to join the police force in Bamian. "But now I am working as a police officer, I think nothing can deter me."

Habiba Sarabi, the governor, has been the driving force behind women’s progress here. She has pushed to have more policewomen on the force to handle women’s cases, specifically.

"If the general situation improves, it can improve the situation for women," she said.

Sarabi’s appointment by President Hamid Karzai three years ago was a brave one, given that jihadi leaders were still very powerful in many areas.

"It is not only because they are against women," Sarabi said, "but they do not want to lose power, so they make trouble for the governor."