Associated Press: U.N. official: For Afghan women ‘glass is half full’
“…Abuse of women in Afghanistan remains entrenched and endemic, despite constitutional guarantees of equality, protection from violence, and age-old practices such as trading young women to pay debts. … In fairness, much has improved for Afghan women since the Taliban were ejected from power. … Now millions of girls go to school, compared to practically none in 2001, and access to health care is widespread. … Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the executive director of U.N. Women, has found that government officials, judges, clerics, and educators are often receptive to the concepts of women’s rights, as enshrined in the Afghan constitution. But, she said, ‘When we are dealing with extremism there is pushback, every step of the way there is pushback’…” (O’Donnell, 8/26).