As a strongly Islamic country, Afghanistan's public
face was overwhelmingly male. Travellers did not deal
with or even encounter Afghani women. The head-to-toe
covering that women wore -- with only a small mesh for
the eyes -- was the most severe I've seen anywhere in the
Islamic world. On the few occasions where you did
encounter women, such as on inter-city buses, they were
strictly segregated. © 1977, 1999 Richard McGuire
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