‘Nowhere to go’: divorced Afghan women in peril as the Taliban close in

As horror stories emerge from areas that have fallen to the Islamist militants, women living alone fear they have no route of escape

There's an old saying in Afghanistan that encapsulates the country's views on divorce: A woman only leaves her father's house in the white bridal clothes, and she can only return in the white shrouds."

In this deeply conservative and patriarchal society, women who defy convention and seek divorce are often disowned by their families and shunned by Afghan society. Left alone, they have to fight for basic rights, such as renting an apartment, which require the involvement or guarantees of male relatives.