The UK might have to recognise that creating a viable state in Afghanistan is not achievable, an influential group of MPs has said.
The Commons international development committee said the UK should reconsider its ambition of building Afghan government institutions in favour of more traditional aid targets.
These especially included improving the lives of Afghan women, the MPs said.
The government said it had pledged to do more to help women in Afghanistan.
'Better future'The MPs' report described abject poverty in the country and pointed out that Afghan women were three times worse off than men and far more likely to be illiterate.
But the report said it was vitally important, nevertheless, not to abandon the people of Afghanistan - especially the country's women.
End Quote Sir Malcolm Bruce International development committee chairmanMany British soldiers have died or been injured in the attempt to give Afghanistan a better future. "
Committee chairman Sir Malcolm Bruce said: "Many British soldiers have died or been injured in the attempt to give Afghanistan a better future.
"The Afghan people want their country to succeed, and the UK should continue to support them with a major aid budget in the country after the troops leave.
"It is questionable whether DfID [Department for International Development] has the capacity to build a viable state but we should be able to deliver effective development."
'Litmus test'The committee said talk about women's rights in the country had not been followed by "practical action".
The treatment of women after troops left would be the "litmus test" of whether the UK had improved the lives of Afghans, the report said.
Women in Afghanistan had made gains since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, the cross-party committee said, but they continued to face "enormous disadvantages".
On a recent fact-finding trip, the MPs were concerned the situation for women "appeared to us to have deteriorated in some respects since our last visit in 2007".
They found not enough evidence that aid programmes run by DfID were helping to protect and promote women's rights.
The MPs urged the government to do more "to combat violence against women through support for women's shelters and legal services".
DfID should also continue to ensure education for women and girls was a major focus, they said.
Sir Malcolm said: "The UK government has talked a lot about women's rights in Afghanistan, but it has not followed this up with enough practical action.
"The treatment of women in Afghanistan after troops pull out in 2014 will be the litmus test of whether we have succeeded in improving the lives of ordinary Afghans over the last 10 years."
'Big difference'A DfID spokesman said: "We agree that women's rights should be at the heart of our work in Afghanistan.
"UK funding is already making a big difference - it has helped get 2.2 million girls into school and our £19.5m Tawanmandi civil society programme is providing over half its grants to Afghan women's organisations.
"But we agree that massive challenges remain. That is why the new secretary of state has pledged to do more to make sure Afghan women have the opportunity to take decisions that affect their own lives.
The charity Oxfam said international aid had meant a record number of boys and girls now went to school in Afghanistan.
But it added: "Huge challenges of extreme poverty, the position of women and corruption remain.
"The hard won gains of recent years need to be secured and aid needs to target the most vulnerable, boost the position of women and support local initiatives to hold Afghanistan's authorities to account."
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