Serving Western military or corporate interests might reduce economic sanctions, but Western nations cannot completely ignore women's rights because of strong public and political pressure at home.

The Realpolitik View

Power over Principles: History shows powerful countries often ignore local human rights when a foreign government serves their strategic needs.
Past Deals: During past conflicts, Western nations worked with harsh local rulers to protect their own security and trade routes.
The Logic: If a future Afghan government offered guaranteed counter-terrorism cooperation or business access, some Western leaders might push to drop sanctions quickly.
Why Total Forgetting is Difficult Today
Voter Pressure: Citizens in Western countries care deeply about human dignity and gender equality.
Political Cost: No Western leader can easily excuse the complete ban on girls' education and women working without facing heavy public backlash.
Global Visibility: Modern media and active human rights groups keep the spotlight on these abuses. A sudden U-turn looks shameful to voters.
The Reality of Interests
Few Western Corporations: Afghanistan does not have massive Western corporate networks waiting to invest. Most mining and trade deals involve regional neighbors like China rather than Western companies.
Shifted Military Goals: Western military forces left Afghanistan in 2021. They do not need large local bases anymore. Their main focus is remote security monitoring, which changes how much leverage a local government holds over them.
Conclusion
A secret or pragmatic deal might ease economic pain for a ruling regime, but modern human rights standards and public awareness mean the West cannot simply pretend the oppression of women never happened