Afghanistan: Shakila Ibrahimkhalil: 'We Have Fought Too Hard for Our Freedoms to Lose Them Again' --- Under the Taliban's rule, I was denied the right to study and although I was very young, my family forced me to marry. When my husband was killed, his family pulled my children out of kindergarten and away from me: they didn't think I should be studying and working. Fortunately, following mediation by my family and the elders, they returned my children to me. -- Freedom of speech and the media; the presence of women in the media, in schools, and in other educational facilities; representation of women in the Parliament; the free movement of young people in the city: these are all important achievements. Such things were unimaginable 12 years ago. Human rights institutions that enable women to raise their voices are also very important. -- My biggest fear is to lose the gains we have made. I am also afraid of going back to civil war. We have made so much progress and I am afraid to lose it: children going to school, young people studying and playing sport, women working. We have fought too hard for our freedoms to lose them again. -- The first challenge is insecurity. The second is the absence of the rule of law and lack of access to justice for women. The third issue is administrative corruption, which heightens insecurity and injustice. Reprehensible traditions and customs, which prohibit girls from studying and treat women as the 'second sex' is a very big challenge. In some regions, men do not even allow women to go to the doctor. - More, Unveiling Afghanistan, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/unveiling-afghanistan/shakila-ibrahimkhalil-we_b