Word: aqbalzada
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...beginnings of a new Afghanistan can be found in Razia Aqbalzada's classroom at the Shinbul Girl's Primary School. The blackboard has been taken over by a visiting election officer who is telling the students about the Sept. 18 vote for the country's parliament and provincial councils. But the students at the back of the room are more interested in the sudden appearance of a reporter than in how to mark a ballot. That's until their teacher slams her hand on the desk. "Why are you not listening?" she chides. "You must pay attention...
...Aqbalzada's students are only in seventh grade, but their ages range from 18 to 27. Their schooling was interrupted by civil war and the Taliban regime, which barred girls from attending classes. Now they are getting a crash course not just in basic biology but in the rudiments of democracy. They are learning how to vote, in particular for their own teacher, who is running for election in the central Afghan province of Bamiyan. "At my school I can only help a few women at a time," says Aqbalzada, 29. "If I get a seat on the provincial council...
...government. The names of male and female candidates will appear together on the ballots, but the female candidates with the most votes are guaranteed seats, even if they do worse than their male counterparts. Afghanistan's women have enthusiastically embraced the quota. "Women are smarter than men," says Aqbalzada. "We may not understand politics, but we understand the needs of society because we are mothers. Men only understand...
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