Afghans Vote In Their First Democratic Election

SURKHAH PARSA, AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 2: Afghanistan's only female presidential candidate Dr. Massouda Jalal s greeted by women in Surkhah Parsa during a campaign stop in this small village, a five hours drive northwest of Kabul, October 2, 2004. Jalal, an elected delegate from Kabul, is a pediatrician and was responsible for gender issues while working for the World Food Programme. If elected, the 42-year-old mother of three pledges to end the tyranny of the warlords through immediate disarmament of the country. Afghanistan's elections, with 10 million registered voters, 41 percent of whom are women, are scheduled for October 9 after a thirty-day campaign period by 18 candidates, one of which is a woman. (Photograph by Farah Nosh/Getty Images)