A woman takes part in a sewing class at the Women's Affairs Office in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The center has become an important outlet for the growing number of women who are addicted to opium. (Photo by James Palmer)

c.2008 Newhouse News Service

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Under a wine-colored burqa that flows from the crown of her head down over her body, Khadija sat cross-legged, spinning the wheel of a sewing machine and methodically stitching a seam into a flowing stream of white cloth.

The 42-year-old mother of five was working to burn off a consuming and deadly habit that again is blooming across Afghanistan. Until a few days ago, Khadija, who like many Afghans uses only one name, slipped opium in her tea twice a day to combat depression.

"It was," Khadija said, "more important than food."

Just as the Taliban have been reborn in Afghanistan, so have the opium crops.