World | Reuters.co.in: "KABUL (Reuters) - Four years ago Shukria Barakzai was running a secret school for girls in her Kabul home, risking severe punishment from the Taliban's religious police.

Today, she is running for parliament, competing against men, including her own husband, in Afghanistan's first legislative elections since 1969.

Barakzai says she is not afraid of men who think she and other Afghan women should step back into the shadows of a very conservative male-dominated society.

'That's our message, we're not afraid of you, listen to us. We will fight for our rights. You can't remove us,' she told Reuters in an interview."