A rebel, a bureaucrat: The women who stayed in Afghanistan

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of women have fled Afghanistan in response to the Taliban takeover, fearing a return to the brutal repression that marked the group’s previous rule in the late 1990s. Yet some made a conscious decision to stay, for a range of reasons. A top female bureaucrat in the now Taliban-run Health Ministry says she wants to keep serving Afghans, no matter who is in charge. A university student and activist says she is determined to fight repressive Taliban policies that restrict women. As their lives continue to unfold, it is not clear what rights women will be able to preserve under the new regime.