Taliban and Government Imperil Gains for Afghan Women, Advocates Say --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Advocates say that women’s rights and security in Afghanistan are under mounting assault from all sides — the Taliban insurgency and the government alike — putting at risk 12 years of hard-won gains for women here. -- The country’s Parliament is about to approve legislation that would strip away crucial legal protections. The insurgents have mounted a string of violent attacks on female officials. And advocates for women are deeply worried by the news that President Hamid Karzai has been negotiating secretly with the Taliban, who enforced hard-line, fundamentalist restrictions on women during their years in power. -- And the advocates see two potential disasters looming for Afghan women this year. One would be the failure to complete a long-term security agreement with the United States, which could lead to the departure of American and other international forces and aid agencies, by far the strongest proponents for women here. -- The other is the election in April to choose Mr. Karzai’s successor. The slates of many of the 11 candidates for president are dominated by warlords and fundamentalists who share the Taliban’s view that women should never be allowed out of their homes. -- “Women are not on the agenda now,” said Huma Safi, an activist with Equality for Peace and Democracy, an advocacy group. “Every time we turn around, they’re passing another law against women.” -- The killings of four female police officers since July and the abductions of and assassination attempts against female members of Parliament and their families in Ghazni Province last year have aroused concerns that the Taliban are singling out women for violence and intimidation, though all government officials, male or female, can expect to become targets. -- The moves in Parliament, on the other hand, seem like attacks from out of nowhere, advocates say, with the potential to do much broader harm. - More, ROD NORDLAND, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/world/asia/womens-rights-seen-as-vulnerable-to-reversal-in-afghanistan.html?hp