KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan Wednesday named its first female provincial governor, a step forward in the slow political progress of women since the fall of the Taliban more than three years ago.

The appointment of Habiba Sorabi as the new governor of Bamiyan was announced in a brief statement on state-run Kabul Television.

Sorabi, who was picked from an all-female short list, served as women's affairs minister in the previous interim administration of President Hamid Karzai, which approved a constitution enshrining equal rights for women last year.

When combined with the reality of women voting in both the Afghanistan and Iraq elections this is yet another affirmation of the massive shift toward freedom and democracy in the region. Heck, a woman even ran for President in Afghanistan.

To those who speak of Bush's policy failures in the middle east, what is this if not a success?

(via South Dakota Politics)