dressed in blue... and other Kabul, Afghanistan Local Custom Tips

Yes the women still don the Burkha.
Though in Kabul, you would see many doing without... the headscarf would usually suffice.
I dont think its fair to judge the changes in Afghanistan on the basis of the use of the burkha. I think its a cultural thing, which has come down from many generations, and not a legacy of the Taliban. The taliban may have enforced it much more strictly of course. As long as the women think its up to them to decide. Also, all this will not change overnight, and making attempts at the same can be counterproductive, as has often been.
I did see more women out on the streets the second time we were there, and that was a good sign.

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Women begging on the streets... not an unfamiliar sight. The freedom from the Taliban has meant that women are more free now to step out, but it has not translated into a whole lot else just yet.
This scene here was outside one of the main mosques in Kabul.
Also, according to a recent survey, Afghanistan has more than 2 million widows. quite a startling fact, considering that the total population is around 28 million

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Occassionally at the guest house, we'd have some kind of cultural thing going. Some of the Afghans working there decided to dance one evening. Pretty interesting stuff

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We used to carry sweets with us everyday, as we stepped out.
Invariably, we would get to places where lots of children would be playing and would crowd around us, and there would be a great many takers for the sweets!
Its quite a nice feeling, to be able see them smile and interact. The fact that some of the kids could understand Hindi, the official language of India, and sometimes speak it too, made it much easier for me to communicate with them.

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