The Dark Ages (cont.)

Remember people saying that the position of women in Afghanistan would be immeasurably improved by invasion? Wasn't that one of the reasons we 'went in'? Well, read this from today's Independent, about the murder of Malalai Kakar. Here's an extract:

Commander Kakar had earned particular enmity from the zealots for leading a female team of 10 officers who would carry out raids to free wives and daughters being held captive by their male relatives. Her office became a refuge for women being threatened and mistreated and she regularly challenged orders from conservative judges to force them to return to their families.

Women in wartime (2)

If you'd like to see more of Patrizia Casamirra's extraordinary collection of photographs of women in wartime (in Argentina, Bosnia, Guatemala, Palestine and Rwanda), get hold of a copy of this week's Internazionale.

And don't miss the cartoon on p. 78, just next to the crossword, by the wonderful John Callahan.

Women in wartime

If you happen to be in Amsterdam in March, don't miss this exhibition of photographs by Patrizia Casamirra. They're powerful, necessary works, moving yet unrhetorical. They deserve a wider audience.