Taliban vow to respect women, despite history of oppression

By AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ, KATHY GANNON and JOSEPH KRAUSS
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have vowed to respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought them and ensure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists. Their longtime spokesman emerged from the shadows as part of a publicity blitz aimed at reassuring world powers and a fearful population after the Taliban overran the country. The Taliban have sought to portray themselves as more moderate than when they imposed a strict form of Islamic rule in the late 1990s. But many Afghans remain skeptical — and thousands have raced to the airport, desperate to flee the country. The Taliban appear to be trying to avoid the international isolation imposed on Afghanistan during their previous rule.