Afghanistan Wartime Women September 2010
Part 3
 

A supporter of Pakistani religious party Jamat-e-Islami prays during a rally to condemn the verdict against alleged al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers in Afghanistan, was sentenced Thursday to 86-years in prison. AP

Fowzia Siddiqui, sister of US detained Pakistani woman Aafia Siddiqui, leads an anti-US protest rally in Karachi on September 24, 2010, following the sentencing of Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui to 86 years in prison for trying to shoot US officers. Pakistan said on September 24 it would petition the United States to repatriate a Pakistani mother of three sentenced to 86 years in jail for attempted murder whose fate sparked furious protests. A New York court found Aafia Siddiqui, the once brilliant scientist dubbed 'Lady Qaeda' by the US tabloids, guilty of the attempted murder of US military officers in Afghanistan in a case that sparked outrage in Pakistan. Getty

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamat-e-Islami rally to condemn the verdict against alleged al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui in Karachi, Pakistan on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers in Afghanistan, was sentenced Thursday to 86 years in prison. AP

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamat-e-Islami rally to condemn the verdict against alleged al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui in Karachi, Pakistan, on Friday, Sept. 24, 2010. Siddiqui, a U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers in Afghanistan, was sentenced Thursday to 86 years in prison. AP

Ismat Siddiqui, mother of US detained Pakistani woman Aafia Siddiqui, speaks during a news conference at her house in Karachi on September 23, 2010 following Aafia sentenced in US. The family of Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui on September 23 vowed to launch a 'movement' to get her released from jail in America. A US federal court on September 23 sentenced a Pakistani woman scientist to 86 years in prison for the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan, in a high-profile case closely watched in Islamabad. Aafia Siddiqui, 38, a neuroscientist trained at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was found guilty in February of trying to kill American servicemen in Afghanistan. Getty

Joanna Jones (R) and her daughters Natasha (2nd R) and Caitlin (front 3rd L) watch as the hearses carrying her husband Sergeant Andrew Jones of the Royal Engineers and Trooper Andrew Howarth of the Queen's Royal Lancers are driven through the town of Wootton Bassett after their repatriation ceremony at RAF Lyneham, southern England September 23, 2010. Jones and Howarth were both killed whilst serving in Afghanistan. Reuters

This September 23, 2010 courtroom drawing shows Pakistani scientist Aafia Siddiqui (R) with Judge Richard Berman in New York. A US federal court Thursday sentenced Aafia Siddiqui to 86 years in prison for attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan.'It is my judgement that Dr Siddiqui is sentenced to a period of incarceration of 86 years,' said judge Richard Berman. Aafia Siddiqui, 38, denounced the trial and said an appeal would be 'a waste of time. I appeal to God.' Getty

Pakistani protesters rally to condemn the arrest of alleged Al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Siddiqui's strange legal odyssey began two summers ago in Afghanistan, where she turned up carrying evidence that _ depending on the argument _ proved she was either a terrorist or a lunatic. AP

Pakistani protesters are blocked by police officers from reaching the U. S. embassy on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 in Islamabad, Pakistan to condemn the arrest of alleged Al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui. Siddiqui's strange legal odyssey began two summers ago in Afghanistan, where she turned up carrying evidence that _ depending on the argument _ proved she was either a terrorist or a lunatic. The Pakistani scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers is set to be sentenced in New York City on Thursday. AP

Pakistani protesters rally to condemn the arrest of alleged Al-Qaida suspect Aafia Siddiqui on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 in Islamabad, Pakistan. A US judge is scheduled to sentence Siddiqui on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan. A jury found her guilty in February of trying to kill US agents and military officers after Afghan police detained her in 2008 - a conviction that touched off protests in Pakistan. Siddiqui's strange legal odyssey began two summers ago in Afghanistan, where she turned up carrying evidence that _ depending on the argument _ proved she was either a terrorist or a lunatic. AP

Afghan female officers attend their graduation ceremony for the first class of 29 women September 23, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Over the last 20 weeks, eight U.S Army women mentors worked along side the 29 candidates who are some of the first to serve in a position of authority as officers in the Afghan National Army (ANA). Their ages range from 18-35, many are housewives. Getty

A newly graduated female army officer of Afghan National Army, Mariam Ghulam Rasool, right, pose for a photograph with one of her instructors of the American Army after their graduation ceremony at National Army's training center in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday Sept. 23, 2010. AP

Director Sonia Nassery Cole speaks to the media during the premiere of her film "Black Tulip" at the Ariana cinema in Kabul September 23, 2010. "Black Tulip", Afghanistan's contender for the Oscars, premiered on Thursday at the cinema which was once the site of pitched gunbattles, but its director wants viewers to see past the violence to the richness of Afghan culture and traditions. To match Reuters Life! AFGHANISTAN-OSCAR. Reuters

People arrive for the premiere of the film "Black Tulip" at the Ariana cinema in Kabul September 23, 2010. "Black Tulip", Afghanistan's contender for the Oscars, premiered on Thursday at the cinema which was once the site of pitched gunbattles, but its director wants viewers to see past the violence to the richness of Afghan culture and traditions. To match Reuters Life! AFGHANISTAN-OSCAR. Reuters

Afghan female officers attend their graduation ceremony for the first class of 29 women September 23, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Over the last 20 weeks, eight U.S Army women mentors worked along side the 29 candidates who are some of the first to serve in a position of authority as officers in the Afghan National Army (ANA). Their ages range from 18-35, many are housewives. Getty

Female officers, also trainers for the Afghan National Army (ANA) attend a graduation ceremony in Kabul September 23, 2010. Afghanistan's army got its first female officers in decades on Thursday when 29 women graduated in a class of new recruits. Reuters

An Afghan female officer gets a hug from a U.S military female mentor after the graduation ceremony for the first class of 29 women September 23, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Over the last 20 weeks, eight U.S Army women mentors worked along side the 29 candidates who are some of the first to serve in a position of authority as officers in the Afghan National Army (ANA). Their ages range from 18-35, many are housewives. Getty

fghan woman cheer as they attend a concert during a peace day event on September 21, 2010 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Singer, composer, peace and rights activist Farhad Darya performed at the concert. During the Taliban era women were not allowed to go outside the chart of the house let alone a concert. Getty

An Afghan woman attends a concert during a peace day event on September 21, 2010 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Singer, composer, peace and rights activist Farhad Darya performed at the concert. During the Taliban era women were not allowed to go outside the chart of the house let alone a concert. Getty

Afghan woman attend a concert during a peace day event on September 21, 2010 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Singer, composer, peace and rights activist Farhad Darya performed at the concert. During the Taliban era women were not allowed to go outside the chart of the house let alone a concert. Getty

Afghan woman cheer as they attend a concert during a peace day event on September 21, 2010 in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Singer, composer, peace and rights activist Farhad Darya performed at the concert. During the Taliban era women were not allowed to go outside the chart of the house let alone a concert. Getty

n Afghan woman walks past election posters of parliamentarian candidates in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010. Afghan authorities said it was too early to judge the validity of the country's parliamentary ballot despite observers' reports of widespread fraud in the vote that was to help consolidate its shaky democracy. AP

French soldiers from The 126 Infantry Regiment (RI) ' The Bisons' based at Rocco Combat Out Post watch Afghan villagers as they take part in Operation 'Glued Finger 2' in the village of Dwakoleh in Surobi District on September 21, 2010. Most of France's 3,500 soldiers inside Afghanistan are based in districts around Kabul. They are part of a NATO-led multinational force fighting the Taliban. Getty

French soldiers from The 126 Infantry Regiment (RI) ' The Bisons' based at Rocco Combat Out Post search a compund as they take part in Operation 'Glued Finger 2' in the village of Dwakoleh in Surobi District on September 21, 2010. Most of France's 3,500 soldiers inside Afghanistan are based in districts around Kabul. They are part of a NATO-led multinational force fighting the Taliban. Getty

Young Afghan children watch as French soldiers of the 126 Infantry Regiment (RI) ' The Bisons' based at Rocco Combat Out Post take part in Operation 'Glued Finger 2' in the village of Dwakoleh in Surobi District on September 21, 2010. Most of France's 3,500 soldiers inside Afghanistan are based in districts around Kabul. They are part of a NATO-led multinational force fighting the Taliban. Getty

2010. Allegations of fraud and a low voter turnout overshadowed vote counting in Afghanistan's parliamentary election on September 19 after widespread and deadly Taliban violence targeted the key poll. Getty

Afghan girls clap along to the music during an International Peace Day ceremony in Kabul on September 21, 2010. Afghanistan's election authority put turnout in the country's September 18 parliamentary election at 47 percent based on the number of eligible voters in areas where polling centres opened. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has said that more than 1,300 polling centres failed to open because security could not be guaranteed following Taliban threats to disrupt the election. Getty

Women attend Friday prayers in the office of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan in Dushanbe September 17, 2010. Chronic poverty and a Soviet-style crackdown on religion is fuelling the growth of radical Islam in parts of Central Asia, a secular but mainly Muslim region wedged between Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and China. Picture taken September 17, 2010. Reuters

A woman, wearing a headscarf according to the Islamic dress code, walks next to a women dressed in a western style on a street of Dushanbe September 18, 2010. Chronic poverty and a Soviet-style crackdown on religion is fuelling the growth of radical Islam in parts of Central Asia, a secular but mainly Muslim region wedged between Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and China. Picture taken September 18, 2010. Reuters

Afghan election workers wait for vote count papers to feed the tally at Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission in Kabul, Monday Sept. 20, 2010. Afghan officials started gathering and tallying results Sunday in a process that could last weeks if not months. AP

French soldiers from the 126 Infantry Regiment (RI) 'The Bisons' paint an insignia on a wall at the Rocco Combat Outpost in Surobi district on September 20, 2010. More than 3,500 French troops are stationed in the country. Allegations of fraud and a low voter turnout overshadowed vote counting in Afghanistan's parliamentary election after widespread and deadly Taliban violence targeted the key poll. Getty

Burqa clad Afghan women and their daughters walk along a road in Kabul on September 17, 2010. The Taliban have kidnapped 19 people associated with Afghanistan's parliamentary election, including a candidate, eight ballot officials and 10 campaign workers, officials said. The candidate was snatched in the eastern province of Laghman and the other 18 men in Bagdhis, in the northwest, provincial chiefs of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) told. Getty

Chief Warrant Officer II Jessica Brewington, pilot of "Dustoff" medevac team from 101st Airborne Division, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Shadow cleans the window of a Black Hawk medevac helicopter in FOB Ramrod near Kandahar, Afghanistan September 19, 2010. Picture taken September 19, 2010. Reuters

Afghan girl students study in a make-shift classroom in tents provided by UNICEF at the Afghan government-funded Babazangi school compound for pupils aged 7 to 18, in Herat, western Afghanistan September 20, 2010. Afghanistan has a female literacy rate of 12.6 percent, the lowest of any country in the world, according to the 2009 United Nations Human Development Index (UNHDI). Reuters

Afghan women wait in a long line to vote at a local mosque September 18, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. More than 2,500 candidates will contest for 249 seats in the lower house of the Afghan parliament in the country's second election. The Taliban warned voters to boycott the polls threatening violence to disturb the election process. Getty

An Afghan woman lets her inked finger dry before entering the polling booth to cast her vote as others wait in line September 18, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. More than 2,500 candidates will contest for 249 seats in the lower house of the Afghan parliament in the country's second election. The Taliban warned voters to boycott the polls threatening violence to disturb the election process. Getty

U.S. Army medic SGT Tyrone Jordan (L) of Charlotte, NC attached to Dustoff Task Force Shadow of the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade comforts a young girl as she is transported on a MEDEVAC helicopter September 18, 2010 near Marja, Afghanistan. The girl suffered wounds to her face and legs after being struck by shrapnel from a RPG that was fired at Marines patrolling in her village. Getty

Afghan women wait outside a polling station to cast their ballots for the parliamentary elections in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010. Afghans braved Taliban rockets and polling site bombings Saturday to vote for a new parliament in elections seen as a measure of the government's competence and commitment to democratic rule. It was the first nationwide balloting since a fraud-marred presidential election last year undermined international support for President Hamid Karzai. AP

U.S. Marines help as a young girl is carried by her father to a MEDEVAC helicopter September 18, 2010 near Marja, Afghanistan. The girl suffered wounds to her face and legs after being struck by shrapnel from a RPG that was fired at Marines patrolling in her village. Getty

Afghan women wait outside a polling station to cast their ballots for the parliamentary elections in Mazar-e-Sharif, Balkh province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010. Afghans braved Taliban rockets and polling site bombings Saturday to vote for a new parliament in elections seen as a measure of the government's competence and commitment to democratic rule. It was the first nationwide balloting since a fraud-marred presidential election last year undermined international support for President Hamid Karzai. The ink on the woman's finger is from traditional henna. AP

Afghan political party female observers take notes at a polling station in Kabul on September 18, 2010. Afghanistan's parliamentary election presented a 'mixed picture' amid poor security that could impact voter turnout, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said. Getty

An elderly Afghan woman shows off her inked finger to the camera after she made it to the polls to cast her vote September 18, 2010 in Kabul, Panjshir, Afghanistan. More than 2,500 candidates will contest for 249 seats in the lower house of the Afghan parliament in the country's second election. The Taliban warned voters to boycott the polls threatening violence to disturb the election process. Getty

A burqa-clad woman walks at a polling station in Herat, western Afghanistan September 18, 2010. Afghanistan braced itself for a day of violence on Saturday as voters headed to the polls for a parliamentary election that is a crucial test of government credibility and the strength of its security forces. Reuters

A Shia Muslim Hazara Afghan woman attends parliamentary candidate Mohammad Mohaqiq's election campaign event in Kabul on September 13, 2010. Afghanistan, plagued by an increasingly deadly Taliban-led insurgency, is due to hold its second post-Taliban parliamentary elections on September 18 amid fears that attacks might disrupt the vote. Getty

Afghan girls look at US soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division Alpha Battery 1-320th and Afghan National Army soldiers as they patrol the village of Saidon Kalacheh on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in the Arghandab Valley on September 11, 2010. The United States and NATO have 150,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban-led insurgency, most of them in the southern hotspots of Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Getty

Maliha Ahmadzia, a 25 year-old law and political science student at Mawlana University in Balkh province, who is running for parliament poses for a photo a day before the parliamentary election September 17, 2010 in Mazar-e-sharif, Afghanistan. Security is of gaining importance as Afghanistan's second parliamentary election is scheduled for September 18, with about 2,500 candidates contesting the 249 seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament. Getty

An Afghan woman holding her child walks past the ruins of Darulaman palace, the former house of Afghan King Amanullah (1920-1929), in Kabul on September 16, 2010. The Taliban vowed to launch attacks on Afghanistan's imminent parliamentary poll, saying election workers and security forces will be the main target. More than 2,500 candidates are contesting the election on September 18 for the 249 seats in the lower house of parliament in the second poll of its kind since the Taliban were ousted from power in a 2001 US-led invasion. Getty

Afghan parliamentary election candidate Shukria Barakzai speaks during an interview with AFP at her office in Kabul on September 16, 2010. The Taliban vowed on September 16 to launch attacks on Afghanistan's imminent parliamentary poll, saying election workers and security forces will be the main target. More than 2,500 candidates are contesting the election on Saturday for the 249 seats in the lower house of parliament in the second poll of its kind since the Taliban were ousted from power in a 2001 US-led invasion. Getty

by Sardar Ahmad Afghan parliamentary election candidate and former Olympic sprinter Robina Jalali talks to her campaigning team at her office in Kabul on September 16, 2010. Robina Jalali is a former Olympic sprinter, Zabihullah Jawanmard a pop legend known as the 'Elvis of Afghanistan' and Zamir Kabuli a comedian who shot to fame for mocking corrupt Afghan officials. They are among the colourful cast of characters standing in Saturday's parliamentary election, the second since the Taliban were forced from power in the 2001 US-led invasion. Getty

Afghan children rumage through trash to be used as fuel for fire September 15, 2010 in Herat, Afghanistan. It's been reported that at least 250 million school-aged children are child laborers for low wages and in hazardous conditions in Afghanistan. Getty

Nima Suratgar, an Afghan parliamentary candidate, talks on a mobile phone as she meets with a group of teachers in Kabul September 15, 2010. Afghanistan will hold parliamentary elections on September 18. Afghanistan's constitution says a quarter of the seats in the wolesi jirga, the lower house of parliament, should be for women - or 68 out of the total of 249. Reuters

the Afghan National Army soldiers patrol the village of Saidon Kalacheh on the outskirts of the village of Jellawar in the Arghandab Valley on September 11, 2010. The United States and NATO have 150,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban-led insurgency, most of them in the southern hotspots of Helmand and Kandahar provinces. Getty

Afghan female prisoners are seen inside of Herat's main prison September 14, 2010 in Herat, Afghanistan. The prison houses approximately 2,000 male prisoners, 118 female prisoners and also has approximately 35 children living with their mothers who are serving their prison sentences. The prisoners are currently serving sentences for offences ranging from murder, smuggling of drugs and robbery and for some women, escape from home. Getty

Farkhunda Zahra Nadri, an Afghan parliamentarian candidate, speaks to her supporters during a campaign rally in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Afghans will choose 249 members of the lower house from among more than 2,500 candidates on Sept. 18. AP