"From her campaign car she waves at people on the street and hands out fliers to people who honk and shout at her. Saqib hopes her words secure her the most votes."
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By Roya Aziz
Afghans are going to the polls Sunday, September 18, to vote for representatives to Parliament and provincial councils. At 26, Sabrina Saqib bills herself as the youngest candidate from Kabul. Youth Radio’s Roya Aziz followed Saqib on the final days of the campaign trail.
Thousands of campaign posters plaster the streets of Kabul. Nearly all of the candidates wear grim and serious expressions in their pictures – with one exception. Dressed in a striking yellow headscarf, Sabrina Saqib smiles brightly in her campaign poster. Her forward style has offended some conservative Afghans, but she’s undaunted.
SABRINA (on tape)
One day one boy called me and told me that, "We are living in an Islamic country, we are Muslims. What is this poster? What is this color?" I told to him that I like it, it’s my right, I like this color and it’s your right that you didn’t vote for me, just this nothing more, thank you, bye.
ROYA
Many more men seem to welcome Saqib. Some even say they’re buying her poster as pin-ups for several dollars. On this day, Saqib’s wearing a yellow scarf - and she’s instantly recognizable. From her campaign car she waves at people on the street and hands out fliers to people who honk and shout at her. Saqib hopes her words secure her the most votes.
At her first campaign stop of the day at an English language center she walks confidently onto a raised platform and tells the crowd of boys in their early teens to late 20s that she’s running to represent young Afghans like them.
SABRINA (on tape)
My goals are threefold. Because I’m young, I must pay attention to the youth – we must invest in our youth. Secondly, because I’m an athlete, I’d like to dedicate my efforts at improving sports in the country. And finally, because I’m a woman, I will also be a woman’s advocate.
ROYA
Saqib is one of thirty-five women running from Kabul for a seat in the lower house of Parliament. Across the country, more than 500 women are running for offices.
Human Rights Watch and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission report that many of them are campaigning under threats from men who don’t want WOMEN to compete in the political process. But those opponents are in a minority, many Afghans told me.
Kabul University professor Nasrine Gross designed a handbook of tips for female candidates. She traveled to rural parts of Afghanistan holding seminars to teach women how to approach men and run successful campaigns.
NASRINE (on tape)
It breaks my heart to see President Karzai receiving groups of men, literally every day, and there is not a single woman among them. From my experience in fourteen provinces, I know that the people of Afghanistan are ready for women’s participation, but when they don’t see their leaders with women they get the non-verbal message that that’s the wrong thing to work with.
ROYA
Hafizullah, a medical student, stopped by to see Saqib in her office during his lunch break.
HAFIZULLAH (on tape)
Women must run for office. This is their right – Islam gives them this right. To help remove the inequalities that have existed, we need to show our support. That’s why I’m here.
ROYA
The winning candidates will be announced two weeks after Election Day. And even if she doesn’t win, Saqib will be remembered as the young woman in yellow.
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