Voting in Afghanistan

"But what has been most remarkable is the large scale participation of women. In the northern Balkh province, women came out in their bridal finery - with beads around their necks and henna on their hands - to vote.

In Kabul, at the end of the day, emotional women told the BBC that it had been the most memorable day in their lives. Some of them were in tears. One old woman said she'd woken up early in the morning and then woke up her sisters saying: "We have to get out to vote. The future of Afghanistan is at stake." "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3727878.stm


"Finally the day has arrived. I am so happy, it's like a dream. I feel that we are finally human," said Zahooba, a toothless old woman of 65 who walked half an hour on shaky legs to the polling station to cast her vote for President Hamid Karzai.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11029878%255E1702,00.html