Mr. Afghanistan: Sign Afghanistan is on the Mend?

Afghanistan's first-ever national competition to select a top bodybuilder was held today, and although the contenders might not make it to the final rounds of Mr. Olympia, this is still an encouraging event. Five years ago it was forbidden to even cheer at a soccer game in Afghanistan, so the sight of many men walking around with oiled bodies flexing to cheering crowds wouldn't have been too popular under the Taliban.

Modern gyms and athletic clubs have popped up in many provinces in recent years, Payanda said, adding that some Afghan bodybuilders have returned from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime was ousted in 2001 and President Hamid Karzai subsequently took office.