(CNN)Concerns are mounting from bipartisan US lawmakers and Afghan women's rights activists that the hard-won gains for women and civil society in Afghanistan could be lost if the United States makes a precipitous withdrawal from the country..President Joe Biden has suggested it will be difficult to meet the May 1 deadline for US troops to leave the country as dictated in the deal the Trump administration signed with the Taliban. However, there are fears that if the US withdraws troops before the conditions on the ground are right -- regardless of the date on the calendar -- there will be a sharp and possibly catastrophic backslide
VP Biden on Afghanistan: "We are leaving in 2014. Period."
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) October 12, 2012