Donald Trump is becoming increasingly impatient about removing all US troops from Afghanistan, 18 years after the invasion that followed September 11. As peace talks continue, Fawzia Koofi, a female Afghan MP, describes being in the room with the Taliban, while the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison examines the slow progress for women’s rights that could be at risk when international forces leave. Plus: Gary Younge on knife crime

Donald Trump has become increasingly impatient to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, a war he sees as having failed and a considers a continuing financial drain. But after more than 17 years of conflict, with at least 38,000 civilians killed and millions more injured or displaced, removing troops is a process fraught with risk.

The Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi took part in recent talks with the Taliban in Moscow and, having fought for a female presence around the table, she was insistent that women’s rights were not discarded in the process. Meanwhile, the Guardian’s Emma Graham-Harrison discusses the slow improvement in women’s rights since the Taliban was ousted from government and how securing these was a key objective for the US.

Also today: the Guardian columnist Gary Younge on the inconsistent response to rising knife crime in the UK. Two teenagers died this weekend in attacks in London and Manchester.