After nearly three intense years of sticking it out for Afghan women's rights – raising awareness, raising funds, reaching out to local and international communities, networking with other organizations, conducting grassroots projects, organising conferences, even editing a book on the issue – Sunita Mehta finally stepped on Afghan soil last September. In the conservative, former Taliban stronghold city of Kandahar – where women are rarely publicly seen or heard – Mehta and her co-workers evolved an extraordinary forum for ordinary Afghan women to have a say in their future.