Earlier this week I voted for the first time. This experience changed my perspective on many things. My expectations for transparency and management of the election process were very low, but I still believe it was important for us to vote as a way of standing up for democracy and saying “no” to terrorists.
At the voting sites, I saw a big group of women and men from different ethnic groups and of different ages. There were many pregnant women who stood in line to cast their votes. Seeing my community come together like this, made me feel inspired and proud. It instilled in me a sense of respect for my vote to know that so many people walked long distances and accepted hardship and security threats to be able to vote. Across the country, people decided to participate in election despite the many obstacles in their way.
Another reason this particular election was inspiring was the number of young people and women running for office. I believe the diversity of voices in parliament and higher number of women and youth will lead to more transparency and positive change. I decided to cast my vote for a progressive woman that I know will fight for my rights. I don’t know if she’ll win or not, I voted for her as an act of solidarity and to practice my right for political participation.
The increased number of women candidates might be the reason for women’s wide participation in this round of election. For example, according to the Independent Election Commission, 53% of voters in Jauzjan Province were women. I felt proud to cast a vote and I’m proud that our collective power as voters and as the people of the Afghanistan was so great that even terrorist attacks didn’t deter us from exercising our rights.
Feature image courtesy of Courtney Body.