Afghanistan: Afghan women remain wary of politics - and rightly so

Afghan women, the reluctant cause celebre of post-9/11 international politics, marked this year's International Women's Day in an atmosphere of uncertainty. There is international pressure to negotiate with the Taliban and to altogether abandon the pursuit of women's rights in Afghanistan.

Needless to say, even though this turn of events is alarming, the fact that it is happening is not surprising. After all, the introduction of gender politics in Afghanistan was fraught with problems from its inception. It was a noble venture that meant well but it neglected the fact that individual rights were meaningless in a traditional society where the place of both men and women was defined through their membership of a family.

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