KABUL, May 17 (IPS) - While global attention is fixed on the scheduled pullout of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014, women here have a much more immediate concern: how will they survive another day at work?

Author's husband and baby, center, with two other Afghan-born men, 2008. Credit: Fariba Nawa. (WOMENSENEWS)-- After reading more than 500 news articles about Afghanistan in the span of six months, I came to the conclusion that Americans, Europeans and Australians think Afghans are savages who are beyond salvation.

In many places around the world, the wedding season kicks off in June. And one of the key moments of the ceremony is the lifting of the veil, a custom that dates back to an ancient ritual when the bride is presented to the groom for his approval.

Last month, Niloofar Rhmani became the first woman to graduate from the Afghan Air Force since the 1980s, and her story is making her a popular symbol of changing times. The 21-year-old from Kabul was awarded her flying wings on May 14 after successfully completing the air force's undergraduate pilot training program, according to the Washington Times.

Kabul, Afghanistan - Fawzi Koofi, an Afghan MP, was left out to die under the sun the day she was born, according to a story she recounts in her autobiography. She is now set to run in Afghanistan's presidential elections next year. Among Westerners, she is regarded as a champion for Afghan women.

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Women's rights have improved considerably in Afghanistan since 2001, Sima Samar, Afghan Alternative Nobel Prize laureate tells DW. But the question is, how will the trend develop after NATO leaves in 2014? What has been done so far since 2001 for human rights in Afghanistan and for women's rights?

On 17 May, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova met in Kabul with the Association, founded in 2005 by Ms Shafiqa Habibi and now counting 350 members in five provinces. "Our greatest challenge is the lack of capacity - many journalists have no professional training.

AUAF is constructing the International Center for Afghan Women's Economic Development, thanks to a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations. This new center is a wonderful development for AUAF and Afghanistan.

Written by Karim Amini The Afghan Women's Network is demanding that no amendment or changes should be made in the law on elimination of violence against women. The Women's Network said that the Parliament is trying to bring some amendments in the law on elimination of violence against women which will prove to be detrimental for the Afghan women and put front some serious challenges.

Roya Mahboob, founder of Afghan Citadel Software Co. When Roya Mahboob found out she was on Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world she thought it was a mistake. She is an entrepreneur in Afghanistan who rises above death threats, fighting for women's empowerment and education with computers, access to the Internet and social media.

Zahira Sarwar - WNN SOAPBOX (WNN) Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, AMERICAS: Take a moment to reflect on what comes to mind when you hear or read the word "Afghanistan." Some common things that often come to people's minds if they have never personally been to Afghanistan include war or violence, poverty, drugs, oppressed burqa-clad women and girls who are not allowed to attend school.

Sonia Sarwari is a celebrity in Afghanistan. Turn the TV on any given day, and her face is bound to sooner rather than later. The 20 year old has been in countless adds, music videos TV series and recently signed five films with a major production company--the first one to emerge after the fall of the Taliban regime, which had banned acting, music and television.

Moska Najib was recently in Kolkata photographing Afghans, called Kabuliwallas, in the 21st century. NEW DELHI: Moska Najib does not fit in with any stereotype of an Afghan woman. The 29-year-old documentary filmmaker is among the top 25 shortlisted for one of the six 'best jobs in the world' - lifestyle photographer in Melbourne.

Over 150 Afghan school girls receive treatment in hospital after suspected poisoning in their school. (Reuters) Over 150 schoolgirls in Afghanistan's capital Kabul fell sick after smelling gas and drinking water, and are now being examined for possible poisoning, hospital officials said on Wednesday (May 1).

The killing of a young Afghan woman by her father in front of a large crowd last week - on the grounds that she had "dishonoured" the family - is further proof that the authorities are failing to tackle shocking levels of gender-based violence in the country, Amnesty International said today.

Credit: Reuters/Ahmad Masood 1 of 8. An Afghan woman holds up opium as she attends a counseling session at the Nejat drug rehabilitation centre, an organisation funded by the United Nations providing harm reduction and HIV/AIDS awareness, in Kabul January 29, 2012.

By WAZHMA FROGH There are many commonly-held beliefs about life for women under the Taliban in Afghanistan, but few stories. Please allow me to tell you one. At the time, I was living in Pakistan and often had to return to my homeland for work or to visit relatives.

DAWN - Documenting Afghan Women's Narratives - is staging an exhibition at the Fairfield Halls from next Monday, April 8, until April 14. Additional to the exhibit will be an event where women involved in the project will discuss their experiences and answer questions (on Wednesday April 10, from 6.30pm).

IDLO is an international intergovernmental organization dedicated to promoting the rule of law and good governance in developing countries, countries in economic transition and in those emerging from armed conflict

Not only do they fear the return of fundamentalist militias like the Taliban, they also worry that conservative elements within their own government may back-pedal on reforms. But beyond the wider political debate, for many women there is a daily, more personal struggle, as they push against the attitudes of conservative relatives and neighbours.

West Virginia University student Katherine Bomkamp, who received the L'Oreal Paris Beauty of Giving Award, is shown at the Glamour awards ceremony at Barnard College on April 3, 2013 in New York City.

High-school student Muhammad Akbar has never dated a girl in real life, but he's got plenty of girlfriends on Facebook. With social and religious taboos restricting face-to-face contact between unrelated members of the opposite sex, Facebook's popularity has skyrocketed as a virtual meeting place in Afghanistan.

Kabul, Afghanistan Afghan women face frequent discrimination, and under Afghan culture, it is more acceptable for women to express their grievances to female, rather than male, judges. Yet only around ten percent of the Afghan judiciary is female. More women judges could mean more access to justice for all women.

Bhajji may be out of favour with the selectors who have left him out of the probables for the Champion's Trophy but his career may yet get a new lease of life. The feisty sardar, known for his never say die attitude, is all set to coach the Afghanistan women's cricket team.