She was caught when someone saw her camera, and she was immediately charged with espionage, a crime that was punishable by death. Her captors were largely associated with the Taliban, a group that Yvonne Ridley opposed because of their treatment of women. In order to facilitate her release, she promised to read the Quran. When she was finally let go, she was true to her word and read the holy book, although she did this primarily to find evidence of Islam supporting the mistreatment of women. To her surprise, she failed to find any evidence, and instead claimed that Islam advocated equality for women. She later converted to Islam, and is now one of the most famous Muslim women in the entire world.
