Woman sings on Afghan TV
Afghan public television has broadcast images of a woman singing for the first time in a decade.
On Monday evening the national station showed images of Salma, a star in Afghanistan during the 1970s and 80s, singing one of her most popular hits, a romantic ballad.
She appeared on the screen dressed in a sober red and white blouse with a simple veil over her hair.
Although Salma was shown singing only one song for about five minutes, it was broadcast during prime time.
It is the first time since the fall of the communist regime of
president Najib Allah in 1992 that Afghan public television has shown such images.
During the 1992-1996 civil war, images of women were no longer shown. Under the Taliban regime which came to power in 1996, women were unable to work and television was forbidden from showing images of women.
News shows
Under the government of President Hamid Karzai, women have made their way back to the small screen by presenting news shows.
At least two other music clips featuring women were also shown on Monday night, of which one was a religious song in Urdu to mark the visit to Kabul by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Zafar Allah Jamali.
On 4 January, a traditional loya jirga or grand assembly adopted a new constitution which recognises equal rights for all irrespective of gender.