Afghan Women Commissioned Into Army

From BBC News:

The first female Afghan officers since the early 1990s have been commissioned into the army.

Twenty-nine women passed out from a class of new recruits who hope to take the lead role in security from foreign forces by 2014.

Their recruitment is part of a huge US-funded training programme. Women were forbidden from serving by the Taliban.

The aim is to strengthen army and police ranks so that 150,000 foreign forces can begin to withdraw.