; and (D) the success or failure of Afghanistan’s relationship with the United States and donor community will rest in part on maintain[ing] the civil rights of women and minorities and preserv[ing] the gains of the last 18 years . (17) The Government of Afghanistan has not been included in the direct negotiations between SRAR and Taliban officials. Taliban officials continue to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Government of Afghanistan. (18) Afghan women and minorities were included in the July 7–8, 2019, intra-Afghan dialogue with Taliban officials in Doha, but they have not been included in the direct negotiations between SRAR and Taliban officials. (19) Examples of gains in democratic development and human rights in Afghanistan include the following: (A) A vibrant civil society, including independent media. (B) The right of women and ethnic minorities to vote in local and national elections. (C) The Afghan Constitution gives full recognition to various minority groups in Afghanistan, including ethnic Hazaras. One parliamentary seat is reserved for the Sikh and Hindu communities and 10 seats are reserved for representatives of the nomadic Kuchi peoples. (D) Afghanistan’s Lower House of Parliament (Wolesi Jirga) reserves 68 seats out of 250 for women. (E) There are four female ambassadors in the current Afghan government. (F) There are approximately 6,395 women in the Afghan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF). (G) The 2009 passage of the Elimination of Violence Against Women law and the 2018 passage of the revised Penal Code in Afghanistan reinforce protections for women. (H) More than 60 percent of the population in Afghanistan is under the age of 25, half of whom are under the age of 15 and have only lived in a post-2001 Afghanistan that has enjoyed freedoms such as music and sports, which were banned under the Taliban rule. (20) On September 7, 2019, President Donald J. Trump revealed in a series of tweets that he had invited major Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to meet with