Afghan women open library to counter growing isolation

An Afghan woman attends the inauguration of women's library in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara

Afghan women's rights activists opened a library in Kabul on Wednesday, hoping to provide an oasis for women increasingly cut off from education and public life under the ruling Taliban.

Since taking over Afghanistan a year ago, the Islamist Taliban have said women should not leave the home without a male relative and must cover their faces, though some women in urban centres ignore the rule.