Dozens of Afghan women concealed in thick green shawls are married off in an austere mass wedding in Kabul , in a ceremony attended by hundreds of guests and gun-toting Taliban fighters. Marriage is a costly affair in deeply impoverished Afghanistan, traditionally involving huge dowries, expensive gifts and lavish parties. This ceremony hitching 70 couples was one of the largest recently witnessed in Afghanistan, currently in economic freefall since the return of the Taliban. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES