A women's activist who stayed home for days in fear of the Taliban ventured out for the first time on Tuesday in Afghanistan. She and her sister ' their hair covered by loosely draped scarves ' were the only women in the market, where they drew some hostile stares but no outright harassment. Elsewhere in the country's third-largest city, Herat, girls joined boys in returning to school, against expectations, but Taliban fighters handed out hijabs and headscarves at the door. In the capital Kabul, a female news anchor interviewed a Taliban official in a TV studio ' a sight once thought unimaginable.

Days after taking over the country following a lightning offensive, the Taliban made an effort to portray a more moderate stance, promising to respect women's rights and inviting them to join the government. Some Afghan women, deeply distrustful of the Islamic militants, sought to carefully test their limits. But across much of the country, many remained home, too terrified to venture into a new world where an extremist group that once stoned women and restricted their every move is now in power.