Afghan Women Celebrate New Year’s By Removing Burqas

The Feminist Majority Foundation independently confirmed initial reports that Afghan women in Kabul greeted the (lunar calendar) New Year’s holiday by removing their burqas and participating in public celebration. For the first time in many years, women were able to don brightly colored clothes and move freely in the sun. The Washington Post foreign service further stated that “a spirit of religious, seasonal and political renewal filled the streets.” Chairman of the interim government, Hamid Karzai, spoke in Mazar-e Sharif, saying that Afghanistan “is moving toward peace, civilization and enlightenment.”