KHOST, Afghanistan — Motivated, educated and fresh from finishing police academy in Turkey, Second Lt. Zala Zazai had stellar qualifications for the job she took in eastern Afghanistan in June. On social media, she was called a prostitute, and men wrote that her very presence on the force would corrupt Khost Province, where she was posted. Shopkeepers arrived at the station’s gates with no other business but to get a look at this novelty. Lieutenant Zazai, 21, came home from her first day feeling sick and frightened. During the day, Lieutenant Zazai scrambled to expedite the paperwork for a pistol.

Source: New York Times July 20, 2020 19:07 UTC