Meanwhile, the women of northern Mali are particular targets. Aishatta Abdou, a 30-year-old mother of six who left a week ago, was chased off the street at gunpoint in Timbuktu for walking without her husband. She described them as “well armed.” - “It was after that that we decided to leave,” she said. “When I understood that I could not go out anymore, I said, ‘Life is not possible for me here.’ ” Her friend, Fadimata Ouallet, seated near her under a tent, was forced out of a car by gunmen because she was the only woman in it, even though the men were relatives. They pointed a gun at her and said, “Get out or we will kill you,” she said. “I trembled all night, with the fear,” she said. “I can still see them.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/africa/jidhadists-fierce-justice-drives-thousands-to-flee-mali.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120718