Kabul, Afghanistan · Each morning, the policewoman puts on her uniform, goes to her precinct office, sits behind a bare desk. And waits.

She is one of several officers appointed to make it easier for women to report domestic violence. Her job ought to be one of the busiest in the district. Instead, Pushtoon, who goes by one name, has one of the loneliest.

“Last week we had one woman. Before that there had not been anyone for several weeks,” she said, twisting hands left scarred by her attempt at suicide years ago in a Taliban jail. “Women are afraid to come, but we are not allowed to go to them.

“The police chiefs will not let us. They say it is unsafe for women officers,” she said.

Five years after the end of Taliban rule, there are new opportunities for women, and efforts are under way to make their daily lives better, especially in Kabul, the capital. Improving the status of women has been a core goal of U.S. policy here.

But conversations with dozens of women suggest that each step forward has been a struggle. Afghan society remains deeply uncomfortable with the idea of women gaining independence and authority.

Read more at the Sun Sentinel