ISLAMABAD -- As Tetsuko Kuroyanagi returns to Japan with promises of using her television appearances to raise awareness over the plight of women and children in Afghanistan, there's no doubt that her six-day trip to the central Asian war-torn country was a brave effort.
Her commitment to eliminating global donor fatigue toward Afghanistan is a noble cause. Afghanistan is facing a difficult time as an increasing number of people around the world find themselves unable to deal with the country's Islamic regime, which has adopted a radically fundamentalist attitude on social issues.
The Taliban has lost no opportunity to assert its view that the role of women should be limited to the home. As if the barring of women from most professions was not enough, their latest bans have even proscribed the importation of lipstick and nail polish -- commodities that most Afghan households cannot afford anyway.