BREAKING NEWS

Taliban kill Afghan girls' school headmaster

LOGAR - Taliban gunmen killed the headmaster of a girls' school near the Afghan capital after he ignored warnings to stop teaching girls, government officials said on Wednesday, the latest attack by hardline Islamists who oppose education for women.
Education for women was banned by the Taliban government from 1996-2001 as un-Islamic and there are still periodic attacks against girls attending schools, teachers and school buildings.
Women have won back some rights since the Taliban were toppled by US-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, including education and the right to vote.
The Afghan government and its Western backers have pledged to guarantee those advances, although the promise seems precarious as Afghan leaders begin a reconciliation process that includes talks with the Taliban.