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Women in Post-Taliban Afghanistan

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photoWhen the Taliban fell in November of 2001, the Western world hailed it as a victory for freedom. The major beneficiaries of this victory, according to U.S. State Department officials, journalists, and human rights advocates, would be Afghan women, who had been brutally suppressed under the old regime. But now, two and a half years later, Afghan women still suffer many of the same human rights abuses, and suicide rates among Afghan women appear to be on the rise.

Even in post-Taliban Afghanistan, women in many parts of the country suffer the same abuses they did under the old regime. There are few schools for girls, women can't go out of the house without a male relative, and forced marriages are still disturbingly common. Tonight, we look at how far Afghan women have come since the fall of 2001, how far they still have to go, and what the U.S. role should be.

Guests:

Bernard-Henri Levy, author of "War, Evil, and the End of History", founder of French-Afghan magazine

Sonali Kolhatkar, co-director, Afghan Women's Mission

Belquis Ahmadi, Global Rights Partners for Justice

Charlotte Ponticelli, Senior Coordinator for Internation Women's Issues, Department of State

This program aired on April 21, 2004.

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Tom Ashbrook Former Host, On Point
Tom Ashbrook is an award-winning journalist and host of WBUR and NPR's On Point.

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