Will President Obama Stand With Afghan Women? - Elise Jordan

At the very least, Karzai should appoint a strong female leader at a Ministry where she could make the most impact--the Ministry of Labor. Supporting women in the workplace can directly attack the poverty and unemployment fueling much of the insurgency, as Afghans overwhelmingly responded when queried in a recent Oxfam poll.

There is, after all, no historical precedent for the repression of women's rights in Afghanistan. In 1964 King Zahir Shah oversaw the drafting--with women involved in the process--of an inclusive constitution for all men and women of Afghanistan. Although the provinces were more conservative, women in Kabul wore western clothing, even miniskirts out on the town in the 1970s--but when war and fanaticism relegated all Afghan women to the burqa, the world largely ignored their subjugation.

But for our troops to come home for good, Obama at a minimum cannot abandon Afghan women. Will President Obama Stand With Afghan Women?‎

Afghan women at increasing risk: rights group‎
Afghan women at increasing risk: rights group - Yahoo! News
Afghanistan Constitution Chapter Two: Fundamental Rights and ...