While women have made a modest comeback in Afghanistan regarding education and political participation, the country’s acting Public Health Minister Suraya Dalil told me Afghan women still are lagging in one key area: medical care.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA34z8dzGaQ

In keeping with the spirit of International Women’s Day, I made a point to talk to as many different Afghan women as I could about their thoughts on women’s rights in Afghanistan.  Granted, it’s not easy for an American man to just go up to an Afghan woman on the streets of Kabul and strike up a conversation, and it definitely isn’t easier if you have a microphone.  But, I spoke with a few female colleagues and some human rights activists.  They all made an interesting point: Why should they support the Afghan government’s policy of seeking reconciliation with the Taliban?

Sima Samar is the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission chairwoman.  She says she is concerned because the Taliban violated women’s rights during the years they were in power.  She says, “[They] even banned women from access to education, to health care, to work, to movement.  [The Taliban] will come back in power and we don’t have any right to say: What?!”

Samar also says it is critical Afghan President Hamid Karzai includes women in a meaningful way during the peace jirga.  She says, “What is important is that we have to be [at] the table on the decision-making policy [and] not only in the peace jirga as a piece of decoration.”

What do you think?  Will Afghan women play a meaningful role at the peace jirga?  And ultimately, will women’s rights be sacrificed if there is reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban?

http://www.pactradio.com/index.php?p=story&stid=161

After a week here, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend.  As soon as I come into the office in the morning, someone blows up somewhere in Pakistan.  As callous as it may seem, it’s the truth.

As a VOA correspondent, you don’t want to get bogged down in the trenches of a story.  Let me put it this way:  yes, the trenches are important, but you have to have a sense for the entire battlefield.

Editors and former Islamabad bureau chiefs back in Washington tell me that I’m on the ground here to not only give the body count, but also provide the context.  That’s what I tried to do today.

Click here for the story.

Today was the third suicide bombing in as many days.  It was the second in Bannu.  And its victim was a pro-government tribal leader.

Militants are really making their presence felt now, especially following the weeks of rumors that they were suffering from infighting.  Couple that with all the pieces coming together for the Pakistani military starting its much talked about campaign in South Waziristan, and something tells me we are going to see plenty more fireworks.

On another topic, a 20-something-year-old woman came into the bureau today to hand over her CV for a job with our Urdu service.  At one point during her interview, I looked out of my office and noticed an older woman quietly sitting in the reception area.  Come to find out, that woman was the guardian for the unmarried applicant.

I spoke with a few female friends of a similar age back in the States on whether they would take their mothers to a job interview.  They weren’t very keen on the idea.

I’m looking forward to talking with my female office manager tomorrow about it.  My one question: if the young woman does get the job, should I expect a daily visitor to accompany her?