Joyous Kabul girl skateboarders defy war, light up London exhibition

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Wearing scarves under helmets that look too big for little girls' heads, and knee protectors strapped over colourful dresses, the Afghan girls on skateboards seem a world away from the insurgency battering their country.

The skateboards may have seen better times, but the photographs in this London exhibition catch the joy and passion in the eyes of the girls riding them, casting away the hazards of life outside the skateboard park they visit several times a week.