Lone Female Candidate Kicks Off Campaign in Afghanistan

Dr. Massouda Jalal walked up to the podium Tuesday, pulled a blue scarf tightly around her face, and launched into a speech outlining her vision for an Afghanistan where poverty has ended, every homeless person has a house, and war is a distant memory.

Her speech officially opened the first day of the presidential campaign between President Hamid Karzai and 17 challengers. But the address by Jalal, a pediatrician, illustrates the somewhat surreal tone of an election in which policies appear not to be as important as the colorful personalities.

Jalal, 41, was the only candidate to hold campaign rallies in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday. She spoke first at a bakery run by the United Nations before 100 women, nearly all of whom were wearing head-to-toe burkas, and then to a group of men at a Shiite Muslim mosque.

“If I win, I will reconstruct the country, build your houses destroyed by war,” she said at the mosque. “I want to end the looting, bring together the clans and tribes and make life bright.”

In an interview, she said a woman was a natural choice for president.

“Women are by nature peaceful and constructive,” she said. “They are always thinking of reconstruction. They are thrifty. They are careful in saving money. They focus on nutrition and education for their children. The woman’s role in her family defines her family’s future.”

There was little fanfare Tuesday in Kabul for the Oct. 9 vote, but nearly 1,000 angry Afghans took to the streets in the northeastern city of Feyzabad, protesting against aid organizations and setting fire to the office of Focus, a charity, after rumors spread that a relief worker had raped an Afghan woman.

A spokesman for the 6,400-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization peacekeeping mission in Kabul said three aid workers, including two British citizens, were plucked to safety from the crowd by German soldiers.

The United Nations has pointed to the registration of 10.5 million voters as a sign of Afghan enthusiasm for the vote, but the European Union has scaled back its monitoring teams because of the growing violence.

A report by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission warned that the elections would be seriously affected by the lack of information and by the power of regional warlords. The report also said voter registration cards were being forcibly confiscated by warlords, “state authorities and private individuals,” while in other cases people were abused for not obtaining their cards.

At the rally for Jalal at the mosque, Aziz Doulatyar said he was looking forward to living in a democratic country, perhaps even one led by a woman, after so many years of fighting.

“I’m a broad-minded person and I came here to listen to her speech, at least,” said Doulatyar, a law student at Kabul University. “She has a good reputation and will be of service to the country.”

Jalal has gained a great deal of attention as a female candidate. But she probably won’t pose much of a challenge to Karzai, who enjoys the support of the international community and has a media campaign run by an American consulting firm. By contrast, Jalal’s campaign is being managed by her husband, Faizullah Jalal, a political science professor at Kabul University, and funded by a $200 donation from their friends.

Faizullah Jalal said he supported his wife wholeheartedly.

“When she first nominated herself I disagreed because she didn’t have a party or money,” he said.

“The people who are involved in politics have money, weapons, power and support of the international community. I said it would cause problems for you but she said, ‘Whatever they do, I will still nominate myself.’

“I realized she was serious about it, so I respected that,” he added. “Now, let’s see what God says.”

But Shakila Yusufi, a cook with four children, was skeptical about a female candidate.

“A woman can’t do anything,” she said. “It is difficult work. A president should be able to bring security, peace and be of service to the people. A woman cannot handle that kind of work, she is too weak.”

Others were confused about the purpose of the rally itself. One man, when asked why he was attending Jalal’s rally, answered: “I’m not sure. Let me ask my friend here.”