Afghan polls: Women and change

Strapping a turban around her head, Ok Minawa is one of the few women candidates in the Afghan elections on August 20. With a pistol tucked in her waistband she hits the campaign trail in villages in eastern Afghanistan.

Although from a conservative area she has already been made a tribal elder. Going against deeply ingrained tradition, where women are not allowed to talk to men they don't know, this 40-year-old woman has adopted the appearances of a man till she talks.

"Here a man can say anything he wishes but a woman's voice is always oppressed," she says.

Ok Minowa is not alone. Of the 3000 candidates fighting for a seat in the 35 member Afghan provincial council, nearly 300 are women.

Despite the medieval treatment of women in most of Afghanistan, according to the constitution at least 25% seats in the provincial council are reserved for women as are 27 percent of the seats in the parliament.

Sharla Ata is one the two women giving a direct fight to President Hamid Karzai in the presidential elections. Though she has no hope of winning, standing gives her a chance to bargain for other important posts where she can make a difference.

"If I become president that is something I'll be proud of because I am competing with superpowers. If I lose I will still continue my campaign."

Sharla says President Karzai has failed to improve the condition of women in strongly conservative Afghanistan. There are about 5 million registered women voters in Afghanistan and women's groups have been trying their best to reach out to them.

Being a woman in Afghanistan is as difficult as it was before the Taliban, but many are battling the odds and making their voices heard.