Afghanistan Wartime Women April 2010
 

L-R) Veronica Thornloe, Sally Thorneloe, widow of Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, and sister Jessica Thorneloe leave the inquest into his death at Wiltshire Coroner's Court, sitting at Trowbridge Town Hall on April 30, 2010 in Trowbridge, England. Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, was killed in Afghanistan last year and was the highest ranking officer to be killed in combat since the Falklands War. Lt Col Thorneloe was killed in a roadside bombing along with Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, during Operation Panther?s Claw, the offensive against insuregent strongholds in Helmand. Getty

Krista Edquist, left, mother of Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob A. Meinert, and his sister Randi Meinert, center, are consoled by Deborah Mullen, wife of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, during a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. , Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Meinert, 20, of Fort Atkinson, Wis. , died Jan. 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. AP

An Afghan woman passes by a shop in Farah city, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 28, 2010. AP

In this photo taken April 29, 2010, Fatima, an Afghan refugee girl, poses for a photo in a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to UNHCR there are some 240,000 internally displaced Afghans. Children face a wide range of protection concerns, including child labor, smuggling and human trafficking, and early or forced marriage, according to an UNHCR report. AP

(EDITORS NOTE: Image has been reviewed by the U.S. Military prior to transmission) Journalists are given a tour of the detention facility April 27, 2010 at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. Today, a military tribunal began hearings on whether Omar Khadr, a Candian by birth who was 15 at the time of his capture in Afghanistan, made statements to interrogators under duress, which would render them them inadmissable in the first military tribunal to be held under the Obama Administration. Getty

Afghans bring a boy injured in a rocket attack to a hospital in Kunduz, northwest of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 27, 2010. A rocket attack killed three civilians and wounded three others inside a home in Kunduz province, interior ministry said. AP

Afghan women walk past houses destroyed during the civil war in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 27, 2010. AP

Riz Mohammad and Hameeda his wife internally displaced Afghan pose for picture outside a shanty dwelling, in a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 27, 2010. According to UNHCR some 2.7 million registered Afghans refugees still remain in Pakistan and Iran. AP

In this file photo taken Tuesday April 27, 2010, Naziya Khan an afghan refugee girl poses for a photo in a refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to UNHCR there are some 240,000 internally displaced Afghans. Children face a wide range of protection concerns, including child labor, smuggling and human trafficking, and early or forced marriage, according to an UNHCR report. AP

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck (R) consoles (L to R) Frances Cottle, Cottle's widow, Mrs. Janet Deck, Cottle's mother, Bonnie Roybal, Cottle's sister and father Ken Cottle, the family of Sgt. Maj. Robert Cottle, a member of the Marine Corps reserve killed in Afghanistan, during burial services at Arlington National Cemetery April 16, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia. Cottle, a member of the LAPD SWAT team, was killed by a roadside bomb in the Marja region of Afghanistan. Getty

Rossella Miccio, a coordinator of the Italian aid organization Emergency speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 15, 2010. Three of the organization's Italian employees who were detained April 10 after a raid of their hospital in Helmand province turned up explosives and handguns. The group has received no information from Afghanistan's government on the whereabouts of the three and the nature of the charges against them, although Helmand's governor has alleged they were involved in a plot to assassinate him. AP

A scene of Afghanistan's war against the former Soviet Union's army is portrayed in a diorama in People's Museum, or Manzar-e Jahad in Herat April 11, 2010. The bloodied corpses of Soviet soldiers slumped over an armoured tank. Burqa-clad Afghan women on a roof, cheering on fighters as helicopters burn in the sky above their heads. These are scenes from a panoramic pastiche of Afghanistan's war against the former Soviet Union's invading army, brought to life by plaster of Paris figures for the centrepiece of the country's first museum dedicated to the Mujahideen. Reuters

Troops join previously stranded British holiday makers as they return home to the UK aboard the Royal Navy amphibious assault ship HMS Albion on April 21, 2010 in Portsmouth, United, Kingdom. The passengers were picked up in Santander, northern Spain yesterday and ferried to Portsmouth after aeroplanes across Europe were grounded by the volcanic ash cloud spreading in the upper atmosphere from Iceland. Also aboard were troops returning home from Afghanistan. Soldiers from the 3 The Rifles Battle Group included members of IX Squadron RAF, which operates Tornado jets and is based at RAF Marham, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, and medics from 33 Field Hospital based in Gosport, Hampshire. Getty

Troops join previously stranded British holiday makers as they return home to the UK aboard the Royal Navy amphibious assault ship HMS Albion on April 21, 2010 in Portsmouth, United, Kingdom. The passengers were picked up in Santander, northern Spain yesterday and ferried to Portsmouth after aeroplanes across Europe were grounded by the volcanic ash cloud spreading in the upper atmosphere from Iceland. Also aboard were troops returning home from Afghanistan. Soldiers from the 3 The Rifles Battle Group included members of IX Squadron RAF, which operates Tornado jets and is based at RAF Marham, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, and medics from 33 Field Hospital based in Gosport, Hampshire. Getty

US Air Force Staff Sgt. Erica Pulver, 27, of Williamson, N.Y. , center, waits with others to be called to carry wounded U.S. soldiers, from Iraq and Afghanistan, off of a Air Force C-17 airplane to waiting ambulances for transport to area military hospitals, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Tuesday, April 20, 2010. AP

Air Force Medical Services Corp. Officer Lt. Denise Osborne carries a box of blood from a C-17 airplane to a Walter Reed Army Hospital ambulance at at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Tuesday, April 20, 2010. The plane, carrying 20 wounded US soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, was unable to fly the wounded to a U.S. Air Force hospital in Germany due to volcanic ash in the air. AP

An Afghan woman registering as a parliamentary election candidate gives her details to an election worker in Kabul on April 20, 2010. Afghanistan began registering thousands of candidates for the war-torn country's parliamentary elections to be held on September 18, an electoral official said. Getty

A woman from the British navy helps a British passenger board HMS Albion at Santander port, on April 20, 2010 in Santander, Spain. The Royal Navy's HMS Albion has arrived at Santander to bring home service personnel on route from Afghanistan, as well as collecting approximately 200 British citizens, who were left stranded after flight restrictions were imposed when a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland covered most of northern Europe. Getty

Air Force Medical Service Corps personnel sort the personal belongings of wounded soldiers, from Iraq and Afghanistan, and medical staff which arrived aboard a C-17 transport airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. , Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Volcanic ash in the European airspace is preventing the military from flying their battlefield wounded to a Air Force hospital in Germany. AP

A critically wounded soldier, injured in either Iraq or Afghanistan, is carried off of an Air Force C-17 airplane for transport to Walter Reed Army Hospital, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Due to the ash from the Iceland volcano, the U.S. military is unable to fly their wounded to an Air Force base in Germany. AP

A German army Bundeswehr soldier stands in front of pictures of four fallen comrades as she signs a book of condolences in the chapel at the field camp in Mazar-i-Sharif April 17, 2010. Four German soldiers were killed and five wounded after coming under fire near Afghanistan's northern city of Baghlan on Thursday, in one of the deadliest attacks on Germany's forces in the country. Reuters

Afghan women do their daily shopping in the women's section of the Kandahar bazaar on April 15, 2010 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar was rocked by two large suicide bombings on Thursday which killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded 26 others. NATO is becoming an increasing presence in the city as they prepare for an offensive against the Tailban in the summer. GEtty

Afghan women do their daily shopping in the women's section of the Kandahar bazaar on April 15, 2010 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar was rocked by two large suicide bombings on Thursday which killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded 26 others. NATO is becoming an increasing presence in the city as they prepare for an offensive against the Tailban in the summer. GEtty

CARE workers check the identity of Afghan women before food distribution program for windows in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 15, 2010. According to CARE there are at least 10, 000 war widows in Kabul, and CARE is providing them 4 liters of oil, 800 grams of salt and 9 kilograms of red beans. AP

An Afghan girl carries the ration of her mother, a victim of land mines and a war widow after receiving them from CARE's food distribution program for windows in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, April 15, 2010. According to CARE there are at least 10, 000 war widows in Kabul, and CARE is providing them 4 liters of oil, 800 grams of salt and 9 kilograms of red beans. AP

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 14, 2010, burqa-clad Afghan women wait for their turn to be treated, outside a local hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. India's assistance is just one part of a drive for influence over Afghanistan which has angered Pakistan, sparked militant attacks and worried American officials who fear the region could become further destabilized by the competition. AP

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 14, 2010, Indian doctor Sudhan treats Afghan woman Marzia paralyzed from the waist down at a local hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. India's assistance is just one part of a drive for influence over Afghanistan which has angered Pakistan, sparked militant attacks and worried American officials who fear the region could become further destabilized by the competition. AP

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 14, 2010, Indian doctor Baral treats an Afghan woman at a local hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. India's assistance is just one part of a drive for influence over Afghanistan which has angered Pakistan, sparked militant attacks and worried American officials who fear the region could become further destabilized by the competition. AP

An Afghan burqa clad woman looks on as other along with her son take a nap as they beg for alms on the roadside Pul-e-Khumri in north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 14, 2010. AP

An Afghan burqa clad woman begs for alms on the roadside at Pul-e-Khumri, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. AP

Women attend a class at Afghan Canadian Center In Kandahar city, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Eight years after the Eight years after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power, fear again dominates the lives of many young women and girls in the violent south, the stronghold of a revived Islamist insurgency that curbed women's rights when it ruled most of the country until the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. AP

Female students do their homework between classes at Afghan Canadian Center In Kandahar city, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Eight years after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power, fear again dominates the lives of many young women and girls in the violent south, the stronghold of a revived Islamist insurgency that curbed women's rights when it ruled most of the country until the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. AP

Female students attend a class at Afghan Canadian Center in Kandahar city, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Eight years after the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power, fear again dominates the lives of many young women and girls in the violent south, the stronghold of a revived Islamist insurgency that curbed women's rights when it ruled most of the country until the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. AP

Townspeople line the streets of Voluntown, Conn. as the motorcade of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler Griffin of Voluntown, who was killed serving in Afghanistan earlier in the month, proceeds through the village, Monday, April 12, 2010. Hundreds of people honored the fallen Marine in his small town in southeastern Connecticut. AP

An Afghan girl waits for customers at her shop in Kabul on April 10, 2010. Almost half of school-age children in Afghanistan do not have access to education and despite a seven-fold increase in the number of children going to school in the eight years since the repressive Taliban regime was overthrown, 42 percent still do not attend or have access to schools, Karzai said. Getty

Mariyam Siddiqui (2nd R), 12, looks towards Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik while posing for a group shot with unidentified family members in Islamabad April 10, 2010. Mariyam Siddiqui, who was left outside a house in Karachi on Sunday, is the daughter of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted in U.S. court for shooting at her U.S. investigators in Afghanistan, Malik said. Reuters

A mourner weeps as hearses carrying coffins are driven through the streets of Wootton Bassett, southern England April 9, 2010. Two British soldiers who were killed during the conflict in Afghanistan were repatriated to Britain on Friday. Reuters

Beth World shows a photo button of her husband, United States Marine Corps Sgt. Frank World, before observing the transfer of his remains at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in Niagara Falls, N.Y. , Friday, April 9, 2010. Family members say they were told the father of two died when his light armored vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device during a combat mission in Afghanistan. AP

Afghan girls carry sacks of recyclable material collected from different garbage dumps in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010. Kabul has experienced rapid urban growth due to a large number of returnees and new urban dwellers, and the increase in waste from growing economic activity. An estimated 70 percent of total solid waste is accumulated on roadsides, back yards, in drains, rivers and open places, and represents a significant environmental hazard. AP

A veiled Afghan woman receives an injection at a health center in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, April 7, 2010 to mark World Health Day. AP

An Afghan woman in her burqa bends down to choose a pair of sandals at a street market in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, April 5, 2010. AP

An afghan woman arranges cow dung cakes as she works in a field in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 4, 2010. The dried dung is used for fuel.

An Afghan beggar tends to her sick child in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 4, 2010. AP

Afghan girls attend a mine awareness class during an International Mine Action Day event in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 3, 2010. AP

In this photo taken Friday, April 2, 2010, an Afghan girl walks home in Karokh district of Herat province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. AP

Five-year-old Ashton Peterson welcomes home his father Sergeant Carl Peterson, of 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards), as he returns from Afghanistan at Weeton Barracks on April 2, 2010 in Kirkham, England. 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) deployed from Lancashire to Afghanistan in September 2009 to begin its third operational tour in Afghanistan in five years. The soldiers of 2 YORKS have been operating throughout Helmand, including in Sangin, Musa Qalah, Lashkar Gar, Gereshk and Babaji. Getty