Wounded but undeterred, Afghan blast survivors return to polling stations
Afghanistan Elections Women

Wounded but undeterred, Afghan blast survivors return to polling stations

Ruchi
Read Time:1 Minute, 2 Second

Shkula Zadran was at her local polling station in Kabul when a loud blast sent voters rushing for cover amidst panicked screams.

This was the latest in a string of attacks on Afghan civilians casting their votes on Saturday.

Despite threats by the Taliban and ISIS, an encouraging number of voters made it to the polling stations. Some made several attempts to reach their polling centers, amidst gunfire and explosions, at great personal risk.

“The situation got really bad and people panicked. Everyone was screaming and running, and I decided to go home then, without having voted,” twenty-five-year old Ms Zadran told The National.

But she refused to be deterred by the violence she experienced earlier that day.

Armed with courage the young political activist waited until evening and set out for the second time to cast her vote in the country’s parliamentary elections.

Fearing for her life, Ms Zadran’s family discouraged her from going.

“I feel responsible for my country’s future,” she said. “So many people voted in insecure provinces, so why not me?” she asked, adding that the sacrifice of those who died in the service of Afghanistan inspired her to go back and vote.

Read full story on The National UAE

About Post Author

Ruchi

I am an Indian journalist based in Kabul for nearly three years now. I primarily covering post-conflict, developmental and cultural stories from the region, and sometimes report on the ongoing conflict as well.
ruchihkumar@gmail.com
Happy
Happy
0 %
Sad
Sad
0 %
Excited
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
Angry
0 %
Surprise
Surprise
0 %
0 0

Related Post

Will China’s latest investment in Afghanistan actually work?

The Taliban-run Afghanistan saw its first significant foreign investment last month when a Chinese firm signed a 25-year-long, multimillion-dollar contract to extract oil. Experts are...

‘Books they love’: A Kabul graveyard library for two schoolgirls

Kabul, Afghanistan – One morning in early October last year, 16-year-old cousins Marzia and Hajar Mohammadi were laid to rest next to one another in a...

The Taliban ended college for women. Here’s how Afghan women are defying the ban

She's a young student in Afghanistan who graduated high school 3 years early at age 15. For years, she's dreamed of becoming an engineer, both...

Farzana survived rape, addiction and losing her children. Then the Taliban came – now she is missing

For more than a year, Mariam*, an Afghan psychologist, has been trying to trace Farzana* and 14 other female survivors of domestic violence, whom she...

Afghans braving severe cold face stark choice – food or warmth

The youngest of Shah Ibrahim Shahin’s children sit huddled next to each other on the thin “toushaks” – traditional Afghan floor mattresses – trying to...

‘Sense of helplessness’ for Afghan women on Taliban NGO work ban

Working as a female mental health professional in Afghanistan, life for 42-year-old Alia has not been easy under the country’s Taliban rulers. Since seizing power...

Recent Post

Top Category