Afghan elections a victory for women and humanity

Lily Zakiyah Munir, Kabul

It is difficult to find words or phrases that can adequately illustrate the feelings of millions of Afghans or thousands of electoral workers on the monumental day of October 9, 2004 in Afghanistan. Happiness, excitement, hope and optimism, mixed with fear and worry flourished in the hearts of many of these people.

The long-awaited moment had come, when Afghans made their own choice to craft the future of their country by electing their national leader in a free and fair election. Ballots have finally replaced bullets, so some media said. This precisely reflects the dreams of millions Afghans who have grown tired of endless ethnic-based conflicts, civil wars and international politicking, and now yearn for a peaceful and prosperous future.

I was astounded to witness flocks of voters approaching polling stations of their own free will, many of them wearing their best outfits. Optimism and happy smiles accompanied confident footsteps as they journeyed to cast their vote.

Kabul, and other big cities in Afghanistan, turned quiet with hardly any traffic or activity. Shops and bazaars were closed, and produce vendors willingly postponed their business until later in the day.

Those who have been accustomed to the hustle and bustle of Kabul and its lawless and hectic traffic could not believe their eyes when they saw the long orderly queues of voters. Kabulese, as a matter of fact, do have discipline, and I could not help myself from being curious about this changed behavior. How is it that they can follow instructions and remain perfectly disciplined when it comes to elections, but not in traffic?

The most striking features were probably the scenes at the female polling stations. I got goosebumps when I saw the long lines of women in burqha (the traditional female outfit covering them from head to toe). It was impossible to see their facial expressions, as their faces were entirely covered, but there was an air of happiness, excitement and joy radiating from behind the fabric of their burqha.

We could see these happy expressions only when we were within the polling stations, when no men were around. The burqha, then, would be lifted and their beautiful faces would be visible as the women of Afghanistan began to exercise their political right to choose the leader of their country.

Anyone who cares for humanity, and especially women, would agree that these elections are a victory for the Afghans. Just a few years ago, under the Taliban, Afghan women were treated as meaningless and worthless creatures, who had no value and were seen as non-existent without a male guardian.

Women were oppressed by the rules established by the menfolk, and had no power at all to voice their dreams or sufferings. Women were perceived as creatures to carry out domestic and reproductive roles, and therefore public issues such as politics or elections were simply not their business in any way, shape or form.

This cultural construct has widely prevailed and persisted to this point in most parts of the country, especially in the southern and eastern parts. Such socio-cultural and political injustices to women in Afghanistan have to be ended, especially as the country is now struggling to gain international recognition in terms of democracy.

These elections are obviously an attempt to end all these atrocities. Women are offered the same right and opportunity to decide on the future of their own lives. Enthusiasm and excitement of women, understandably, could be observed and recorded from all over Afghanistan.

In Panjshir, about a three-hour drive north of Kabul, for example, female voters struggled under heavy snowfall, some with babies wrapped in heavy blankets which they hugged tightly and protected from snow with colorful umbrellas. One of the polling staff was a lactating mother. While the mother was busy serving her fellow female voters, the baby was fast asleep like a kitten behind mom's desk.

In my recent trip to Herat, the western region that borders Iran, I met a number of male and female civic educators who have worked tirelessly, walking great distances to reach villagers, encouraging them to go to polling stations to vote. The women proudly told stories of how women had gone against the wishes of their husbands and decided to vote.

The women in this area need their husbands' permission to leave the house, as is the case in most ultra-conservative Muslim societies, but their husbands did not want them to go out on polling day. It was interesting to see what the women did. They united themselves, formed a big group of protesting wives, and left their houses without their husbands' consent.

Just a few days before the vote, I visited Kandahar and Zabul, the heartland of the ousted Taliban and still the most insecure areas in the country. The region is also known for its highly conservative patriarchal culture, where women's lives are restricted to "not more than 300 meters beyond their houses." This is the same area where a husband refused to take his ill wife to the doctor because "it is cheaper to get a new wife."

My intimate dialogs with the shuras (women community leaders) in Zabul, as a matter of fact, unveiled the mystery about these Afghan women. Once the burqha was taken off, and we sat among us women only, all the stories were told and the spirit for freedom and independence was clearly hanging in the air.

Tired of being oppressed and discriminated against, of living in scarcity, of having no access to (reproductive) health facilities, these heroic women were determined to make a change, and the elections were their only hope. They were determined to cast their votes, in spite of the security dangers, the objection from the men, and the threats by the Taliban, who had vowed to disrupt the process.

These are the prices of democracy and self-determination for Afghan women. They are brave women who dare to challenge a strict patriarchal culture, politicking and other socio-economic factors. Such brevity should be highly appreciated by everyone who cares for humanity, and especially by those who have concerns for justice for women, in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.

The writer is currently working as an International Member of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) in Afghanistan.