But the abaya and hijab headscarf combination grew in popularity during the time of the foreign-backed government. When the ...

The reality is suffocating. Women are denied education beyond the sixth grade. Employment is out of reach. Leaving home ...

as well as endorsing the enforced wearing of the hijab. The Afghan Centre for Human Rights calls the ban on older girls attending school a "systematic and targeted violation" of their right to ...

Young, urban women in Afghanistan are increasingly ditching the all-enveloping blue burqa with a face mesh that has become a ...

The reality is suffocating. Women are denied education beyond the sixth grade. Employment is out of reach. Leaving home ...

Activists are calling on the Canadian government and universities to let Afghan women studying under U.S.-funded scholarships ...

But the abaya and hijab headscarf combination grew in popularity ... They have gradually erased Afghan women from public space, imposing what the United Nations has called a "gender apartheid".

Many prefer a flowing abaya robe, worn with a hijab headscarf and often a face covering as well -- sometimes a medical mask, or a Saudi-style cloth niqab veil that exposes only the eyes.