The appalling case of Gulnaz (Afghan woman jailed for being raped to be freed – if she marries her attacker, 2 December) is a stark reminder of how much is at stake over women's human rights in Afghanistan, as it moves ever closer to talks with the Taliban and a future without international forces in the country. For years we've been deeply concerned at the imprisonment of Afghan women for zina or "moral" crimes and it's totally unacceptable that this is still going on. Hamid Karzai's intervention in this one case appears to do nothing to address the underlying injustice of allowing women to be jailed for "immorality", shockingly, even when they have been the victim of rape.
The wider concern now is that the highly secretive reconciliation talks with the Taliban will involve the Afghan government trading away women's rights. The international meeting in Bonn today to discuss the future of Afghanistan needs to ensure that women's rights are reinforced, not diluted as a sop to armed groups or the country's cultural conservatives.
Kate Allen
Director, Amnesty International UK
• A 352,000-strong Afghan army is estimated to cost $8bn per year (Report, 2 December). Average income in Afghanistan is $900 a head. This army under the new plans will cost almost 50% of GDP, or $450 per head. How long before it all goes to pot? It is hard to believe that the Americans have spent $1 trillion of borrowed money in Afghanistan and achieved absolutely nothing, other than thousands of dead soldiers and tens of thousands of dead Afghans.
Cathal Rabbitte
Zollikon, Switzerland