Media hyping of Afghan women issues

A signal issue of "elite" media has been
its hyping of issues relevant to the treatment of women in Afghanistan.
Precisely why this is so utterly important to Americans is unclear to me,
though it certainly is clear to the panmujons of American journalism.
American women never seem to go apeshit over what is happening to their sisters in Afghanistan
(as opposed to, say, such paragons of female happiness as the Congo).
(My opinion on why they so prioritize this issue
is the desire of some
to keep American and conservative Islam at loggerheads,
for the benefit of Israel.)

The New York Times and the Washington Post in particular
never cease to bring to the top of the American agenda
the condition of women in Afghanistan.
Here is an example:

2012-02-17-NYT-Rubin-in-baad-afghan-girls-are-penalized-for-elders-crimes

For Punishment of Elder’s Misdeeds, Afghan Girl Pays the Price
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
New York Times, 2012-02-17

[It should be noted that this article appeared above the fold on the front page of the A section,
occupying three of the six columns,
together with a large photograph spanning four of the six,
all in all taking up about half of the space dedicated to news content above the fold.
Talk about hype!]