Aarya Nijat, a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, lives and works in Kabul.

Afghanistan of today, in whatever shape that it is, would not have been possible without Amanullah Khan’s attempt at reformation in the 1920s and the “Decade of Democratization” of 1960-1970. Today’s Constitution is based on the Constitution of 1964. So the seeds of the nascent democracy that we have today were sown roughly half a century ago, in this country and by the people of this country. We own what and where we are today.

This is not to deny, I must emphasize, the facilitating role of the international community, in particular in the past decade. External players can only facilitate or influence processes of internal change; they cannot cause them. To be fair, we own both our achievements and losses, that is we give neither the credit nor the blame away.

Masih Mas wrote on Facebook:

As an Afghan, I would say yes, certain Western values and laws would be a welcomed addition to Afghanistan. We must remember that the most peaceful and prosperous times during Afghanistan’s history were under Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan’s secular government that kept the tribal and religious problems at a far distance. Many members in Karzai’s government are religious warlords who have immense influence in Afghan culture. The average Afghan who supports these warlords does not realize that the same person has killed thousands of innocent Afghans and is involved in drug trafficking, corruption and fraud.

Atta Nasib wrote on Facebook:

It is wrong to assume that Afghan society is reluctant to embrace reforms. Let’s not forget that it’s only been a decade since the Taliban were removed from power and democracy took root.

Younger Afghans are caught in the cross-fire between modernity that comes with democracy and traditional values that are still practiced in general throughout the country. As older cohorts die, so will traditional values.

And modern education is still at its infancy in Afghanistan. It will likely take a generation of Afghans to remove cultural barriers when it comes to women’s progress in particular. It took nearly two centuries to realize universal suffrage in the United States.