We ‘liberated’ Afghanistan. They wrote a constitution that many Bush supporters have suggested is a shining example of what the world will be like after Duhbya finishes remaking it. Back in your burkas, girls! mjh

Women banned on Afghan province’s TV and radio

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – An Afghan province has banned women from performing on television and radio, declaring female entertainers un-Islamic.

The ban in Nangahar, a southeastern province heavily patrolled by U.S.-led troops hunting for Islamic militants, took effect from Friday and also covers women presenters of news and other information, an official said on Saturday.

The decision echoes the strict imposition of sharia Islamic law imposed during the Taliban’s repressive five-year rule of Afghanistan when television was banned, women were forbidden from working and girls were kept out of schools. …

Diplomats said Nangahar’s ban would be seen as a setback for moderates in President Hamid Karzai’s government in their battle with conservatives opposed to liberalisation since the Taliban’s overthrow.

AFGHANISTAN: Local radio makes impact in conservative Kandahar

Established just two months ago with the support of the Washington-based Afghan Cultural Society (ACS), Azad Afghan has a more challenging task of promoting democracy in the conservative, male-dominated and poor security environment of the south.

While the station is well equipped, with funding for the next three years, according to Zeyarmal, they have yet to be able to attract female workers pending safety concerns for women heard on the media. ”There are no female reporters in Kandahar, even in state media. Due to security and cultural limitations even educated women wouldn’t dare be heard via radio or seen on TV,” Zeryamal noted.

StarNewsOnline.com: The Voice of Southeastern North Carolina

Mr. Brahimi, a veteran of peacekeeping operations, most recently was in charge of putting together a government in Afghanistan, for which he won widespread praise. The Afghan model of convening a council of notables from around the country to approve a new constitution is similar to the one he has proposed for Iraq.

Remarks By First Lady Laura Bush at Kilmer for Congress Luncheon

Thanks to my husband’s decisions and America’s actions, 50 million people are free from tyranny and oppression. (Applause.) Consider the women and girls of Afghanistan. During the long years of the Taliban regime, they were virtual prisoners in their homes, unable to leave their home without a male relative. And if they didn’t have a male relative, they were actually forced to have to beg, because they were outlawed from going to school or to work.

Now the people of Afghanistan have new leaders, new freedoms and a constitution guaranteeing the rights of women. And thanks to my husband’s leadership and America’s actions, the people of Iraq are free from the tyranny and the torture of Saddam Hussein and today they are building a free and democratic society.

Yeah, right, Laura. After your husband finishes liberating the women of the world, he’s going to free American women from the tyranny of choice. mjh