Kandahar's Frontier of Sorrow - Part 2  By Manjeet Kripalani
WOMEN'S RIGHTS. Locals distrust the Taliban, but they also
remember the early days of their rule, when merchants could sell
freely, and the streets were safe to walk. This new government
has shown them no improvement. Children can't go to school
because there's no security. Women still can't walk without the
burqa, and schooling for girls is disapproved. Some people
actually wouldn't mind if the Taliban returns, longing simply
for safety.  Safety is one of the big concerns of the women at
the conference that I'm attending, too. They also want
Afghanistan's new constitution to ensure mandatory schooling for
girls and equal rights of divorce, inheritance, and voting. And
they want to get rid of the strict Islamic sharia law that says
the evidence of one man is equal to the evidence of two women.
Most important, they want blasphemy laws that threaten a death
sentence for women who won't wear the burqa to be abolished.
This law is often twisted by ext