With U.S. and NATO combat troops set to withdraw by the end of the year and many international organizations also scaling back operations, they fear that the Afghan government will be under less pressure to uphold women's rights, providing a new opening for conservatives to roll back gains made since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban. Under the strict Islamic rule of the Taliban in the 1990s, women were confined to their homes unless accompanied by a male relative, required to hide themselves beneath burqas whenever they went outside, and banned from school. Since being overthrown in 2001, the Taliban have been based in Pakistan, from where they and other groups plan attacks on Afghanistan aimed at driving out foreign troops and re-establishing their self-styled Islamic state. With U.S.