Afghan Elections

September is a big month for Afghanistan when the first elections will take place. The elections are important for women since last time they voted was in 1965. The Communists and the Mullahs had one thing in common when it comes to a woman’s rights. “16 men were murdererd”:http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040627.wafgh0627_2/BNStory/International/ after the Taliban learned that they had registered to vote. “Even women”:http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/06/27/515956.html were not spared. But despite this, the LA Times reports that Afghan women are reponding to voter registration drives.
bq. Badrai was determined that the Taliban loyalists wouldn’t stop her from voting. So she stiffened her resolve, walked into the mud-walled room behind the local hospital and asked the woman behind the desk if she could have a registration card. “Yes, I am a little scared, because some people say the Taliban will threaten us,” she said. “But God is kind. I think the elections will change our lives.” [“LA Times”:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-women27jun27,1,4175128.story]