Afghan women fear return to 'dark days' amid Taliban sweep

The Taliban's lightning advance across Afghanistan has stirred fears they will reimpose their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and all but eliminate women's rights

KABUL, Afghanistan -- It was early evening and Zahra, her mother and three sisters were on their way to dinner at another sister's home when they saw people running and heard gunshots on the street. “The Taliban are here!” people screamed. In just a few minutes, everything changed for the 26-year-old resident of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city. Zahra grew up in a mostly Taliban-free Afghanistan, where women dared to dream of careers and girls got an education. For the past five years, she has been working with local nonprofit organizations to raise awareness for women and press for gender equality.