Parvin and Zahra two female teenage journalists in Bamyan are not old enough to vote but they made history during the parliamentarian elections in Afghanistan. For the first time in the history of Bamyan, females were part of the reporting team. I was selected to be an election observer in the district of Bamyan focusing on the women polling station. I watched Parvin and Zahra the entire day as they were reporting. Even though at times they were facing challenges when male voters were making fun of them or not taking them seriously but they both focused on what was the most important mission which was filing live reports to Radio Bamyan. Radio Bamyan is a private local radio station owned by Ali Erfan a dedicated Afghan journalist who welcomes females in his staff. Here you can watch a videio clip from Parvin and Zahra's reporting during the election.
There was only one polling station for females in the district at a High School in Bamyan. Some women in Bamyan showed up to the boy’s schools to vote hoping the administrators will by pass the rules but they were turned away.
When Parvin asked one of the female participants why is it that she showed up to all men station? She said, “I have a two month old and can’t commute to the female station, I was hoping to be able to vote at the male’s station.” Immediately after this interview Parvin went on air and described the situation. Followed by Parvin’s report, Zahra, the reporter who was mostly capturing the election moments through pictures described the mood of the election and the female participant voters who were turned away. Once their reports were filed, Radio Bamyan received showers of angry callers asking why women voters can’t vote at more polling stations? Immediately after this report, two tents were opened for females at the boy’s school in Bamyan.
Most of the western news media flew to Kabul a week before elections and immediately acted as experts for Afghanistan. Kabul IS NOT Afghanistan. The reality of Afghanistan is when you travel to small provinces. Most places in Afghanistan lack drinking water and electricity. Little girls and boys help their parents after school to carry water to top of the mountain to their homes. Technology is something of a new concept in Afghanistan. Lack of technology, high illiteracy rate, and not having enough knowledge, all contribute to the issues we all noticed during the elections.
The process of elections in Afghanistan by no means is perfect but it is definitely a beginning to a new democratic path. Most of the female voters in Afghanistan told me, "Now they know they have a choice and they understand what elections mean."
To me the news was not so much about the corruption. To me the news was the presence of many Afghan women who showed up with their infants in beautiful, colorful outfits waiting in lines before the polls even opened. I met a 75 years- old woman who was voting for the first time. I also met so many volunteer girls who weren’t even old enough to vote but wanted to be part of the process. Some women walked for 3 hours to get to the polling station and waited for 4 hours to vote. If that is not progress, I don’t know what is???
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