Afghanistan’s first female army general is pushing boundaries in a country where joining the military is not an easy choice for women. They face opposition from families and have fewer opportunities than their male colleagues. But women like General Khatol Mohammadzai, and 103 female cadets at the Marshal Fahim Military Academy in Kabul, are challenging social taboos.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry utters his famous declaration – ‘Give me liberty, or give me death!’ – to a gathering of Virginia delegates at a Richmond church. Henry’s speech convinces delegates at the convention, including future presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, to send Virginian troops to help fight the Revolutionary War. (‘Give me liberty, or give me death!’ lithograph from the Library of Congress — 1876)

VIDEO: Not all American teenagers want gun reform. While hundreds of thousands of young people, their families and other supporters plan to march for stricter gun laws this weekend across the United States, there are students who don’t support the movement. VOA meets some of them in the Southern state of Georgia. For many in rural America, guns are a way of life and teen gun enthusiasts want their voices to be heard, too.

The forced invasive testing of suspected gay men has been ruled unlawful by a Kenya appeals court. Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya and men arrested under that law are routinely subjected to anal examinations. However, the judges found that the practice is a violation of their human rights. VOA gets reaction in Nairobi where activists are hailing the decision, which could have a ripple effect in the region.

VIDEO EXPLAINER: What is the NRA? The National Rifle Association is a US special interest group that focuses on gun ownership issues. Here’s why the NRA has so much influence on state and federal lawmakers.

Being a black person in the tech industry can be an isolating experience. Consider the fact that blacks made up only 1% of US tech workers at Google in 2016. But finding someone who looks like you isn’t a problem for black technologists at the Afrotectopia festival in New York, where they’re exploring the intersection of race and technology.

VIDEO: ‘I found all my neighbors had been killed with machetes.’ Ongoing ethnic violence sweeping through northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo has forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. The UN estimates nearly 50,000 have crossed into Uganda. VOA is in the village of Sebagoro as more refugees arrive by boat and recount the horrors they experienced.

Illegal campaign contributions? Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is being investigated for allegedly receiving more than $60 million in illegal campaign funding from the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi during Sarkozy’s victorious 2007 run for president. In Paris, VOA examines the headline stories that are causing many to revisit the bumpy relationship between Paris and Tripoli. From arms to oil sales, to security and migration, the two countries have a tangled history.