Afghan men don burqas, take to the streets for women's rights
A group of Afghan men marched through the capital, Kabul, on Thursday to draw attention to women's rights by donning head-to-toe burqas that for many people worldwide have come to symbolize the suppression of women.
The hardline Taliban forced women to wear burqas in public during their rule in the 1990s and concern is growing in Afghanistan and among its allies that gains for women made since the 2001 US-led ouster of the Taliban are at risk.
The men marched under a leaden sky, with the bright blue burqas falling over their heads down to muddy sneakers and boots.
The demonstrators, associated with a group called Afghan Peace Volunteers, said they organized the march ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.
