Kabul: In a country where most women leave home only under the cover of a burqa, Shahla Atta wears bright pink nail polish, highlights her eyes with glitter and wants to be Afghanistan`s next president.
Atta, 42, is one of two women among more than 30 candidates vying for the presidency, an uphill and even dangerous undertaking. Neither has much chance of unseating President Hamid Karzai in the August 20 vote. But just the fact that they are running open campaigns, plastering photos of their uncovered faces around Kabul, is an accomplishment in itself.
Many Afghans, especially in rural areas, believe that a woman should not show her face to non-family members.
"It is difficult for a woman even to invite some people over for tea and tell them about her ideas," said Shinkai Kharokhel, a female lawmaker in Kabul.
Then there is the Taliban, the extremist movement that banned girls from schools and ordered women to stay home and tend to their families during its harsh rule from 1996 to
2001. Taliban militants have targeted female politicians, and have claimed responsibility for the killings of policewomen and officials with the Women`s Affairs Ministry in recent years.
Frozan Fana, 40, the other woman running for president, hasn`t campaigned in some outlying areas.
Bureau Report
