<P> In the areas under his control Massoud set up democratic institutions and signed the Women's Rights Declaration . In the area of Massoud, women and girls did not have to wear the Afghan burqa . They were allowed to work and to go to school . In at least two known instances, Massoud personally intervened against cases of forced marriage . </P> <P> It is our conviction and we believe that both men and women are created by the Almighty . Both have equal rights . Women can pursue an education, women can pursue a career, and women can play a role in society--just like men . </P> <P> Massoud is adamant that in Afghanistan women have suffered oppression for generations . He says that' the cultural environment of the country suffocates women . But the Taliban exacerbate this with oppression .' His most ambitious project is to shatter this cultural prejudice and so give more space, freedom and equality to women--they would have the same rights as men . </P> <P> Afghan traditions would need a generation or more to overcome and could only be challenged by education, he said . Humayun Tandar, who took part as an Afghan diplomat in the 2001 International Conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, said that "strictures of language, ethnicity, region were (also) stifling for Massoud . That is why...he wanted to create a unity which could surpass the situation in which we found ourselves and still find ourselves to this day ." This applied also to strictures of religion . Jean - José Puig describes how Massoud often led prayers before a meal or at times asked his fellow Muslims to lead the prayer but also did not hesitate to ask a Christian friend Jean - José Puig or the Jewish Princeton University Professor Michael Barry: "Jean - José, we believe in the same God . Please, tell us the prayer before lunch or dinner in your own language ." </P>

When did the taliban take control of pakistan