WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is reversing course and granting a visa to a prominent Afghan women's rights activist. She had been turned down, apparently for living in hiding.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner confirmed Thursday that former Afghan lawmaker Malalai Joya (mah-lah-LY' jaw-YAH') will be allowed to travel to the United States as part of a speaking tour.
Toner declined to elaborate.
The decision comes after an appeal from several members of Congress.
The U.S.-based group Afghan Women's Mission said Joya was told at a visa interview last week that she wouldn't be allowed into the U.S. because she "lived underground" and was "unemployed."
The 32-year-old has been an outspoken critic of the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the U.S.
She has survived several assassination attempts.
