Where women took shelter from abuse, Taliban now in control

By KATHY GANNON
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban are trying to figure out, now that they are back in power in Afghanistan, how to handle some of the country’s most vulnerable women — those in shelters. Over the past 20 years, activists created dozens of shelters around Afghanistan for women fleeing abusive families or husbands or forced early marriages. Even before the Taliban, conservatives viewed shelters with suspicion, believing they help women defy their families or promote immorality. The hard-line Taliban aren’t sure what to do with them. They have shut down some shelters, allowed others to continue to operate and have taken a few women into their own protection.