The Taliban said Tuesday they would esteem women's rights, forgive those who resisted them and ensure a secure Afghanistan as part of a publicity blitz targetted at convincing world powers and a fearful population. The Taliban have encouraged women to return to work and have allowed girls to return to school, handing out Islamic headscarves at the door. A female news anchor interviewed a Taliban official on camera Monday in a television studio, an interaction that once would have been unthinkable.

Following a lightning offensive across Afghanistan that witnessed many cities fall to the insurgents without a fight, the Taliban have sought to portray themselves as more moderate than when they imposed a brutal rule in the late 1990s. But many Afghans remain cynical, and thousands raced to the airport on Monday, desperate to flee the country.

Older generations remember the Taliban's ultraconservative Islamic views, which included severe restrictions on women as well as public stonings and amputations before they were ousted by the U.S-led invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.  Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's longtime spokesperson, emerged from the shadows Tuesday in his first-ever public appearance to address those concerns at a news conference. He promised the Taliban would honour women's rights, but within the norms of Islamic law. He did not elaborate.

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