Alongside a military war, the quiet battle for women

ON the dusty cracked streets of Kabul, small cars jostle for space with weapon-laden military convoys.

Men in turbans, burqa-clad women and their children set about their day, seemingly oblivious to the chaos. Some never return home.

On a recent trip to the Afghan capital I heard a blast rip through the heart of the city. It later emerged that 18 people, including a number of schoolchildren, had died. But alongside these bloody battles another is being fought against the repression of women.