Women waiting to cast their ballots at a polling station in Kabul

A western-dressed Afghan woman in a polling station talked excitedly about the television news clip earlier in the day showing presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah voting with his wife. She said seeing Abdullah’s wife vote on national television had sent a wave of excitement among her friends, who were calling one another and encouraging each other to get to the polls.

Afghanistan’s presidential election on August 20 broke new ground for Afghan women. In addition to campaigning with their husbands, they ran as presidential candidates, worked in polling stations and registered to vote in record numbers.

An Afghan nongovernmental organization, the Movement of Afghan Sisters (MAS), provided voter education and outreach in advance of the election to hundreds of women in Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. MAS’ brave election teams of two women workers and a male driver drove to training sessions all over the country, including in the insurgent strongholds of Kandahar, Helmand and other provinces in the south. When women participants said they were fearful they would have to vote as their husbands told them, the MAS workers reminded them that the ballots were secret and gently nudged them to vote their conscience in the voting booth and ‘fib’ to their husbands later.

At polling stations my colleague and I visited in Kabul – men and women vote separately in Afghanistan – female polling station workers had been trained and carried out their duties in a professional manner. They were excited and proud to show us around their polling stations where they checked voter cards, registered voters, issued ballots and inked fingers. These seemingly mundane tasks that we take for granted in the West represent a milestone for Afghan women, who just eight years ago, were deprived of education, confined to their homes and allowed to go on the streets only if covered head to toe in a burqa.

While there was progress on many fronts, much remains hanging in the balance. The stark reality was women still felt intimidated and turned out in low numbers. No doubt, part of the reason was cultural bias against women participating in politics, but there was also the Taliban’s call for a boycott, coupled with threats to cut off the ink-stained finger of anyone who voted.

Shortly before closing time at a Kabul polling station in the back courtyard of a mosque, only 40-50 women had voted. The Afghan woman we encountered as we were leaving the station lamented about the low numbers of women voting. “It is a shame. At our last election this place was packed.”

According to Ruqiya Nayel, an Afghan member of parliament from Ghor and part of the country’s ethnic Hazara community, 45 percent of Afghan women are registered to vote. Final numbers on how many women actually voted are not expected for several days and a run-off election could still be called. It can almost certainly be guaranteed that if another election is called, women poll station workers will be at the ready and organizations like the Movement of Afghan Sisters will be out in force educating women voters about their rights and responsibilities. They will once again risk their own safety to take part in the political process.

What can’t be guaranteed is how the next president of Afghanistan is going to ensure that Afghan women continue to gain their due place in society. Next year’s scheduled parliamentary elections will be a good indicator. Will it be safe for Afghan women to run for parliament? Will female parliamentary candidates be provided security if necessary? Organizations like MAS requested and never received safe transport to bring women to the polls, who otherwise were not allowed to leave the house unescorted. The interesting statistic of the 2,000 donkeys secured to carry ballots this election round sticks in my mind. If this can be arranged, certainly safe transportation for women can be found.

The brave women of Afghanistan have demonstrated during this latest election cycle that they are rebounding from the oppressive rule of the Taliban and are determined to take part in the political life of their country. Now, as Afghanistan’s presidential candidates talk about possible negotiations with the Taliban, we need to ensure that women’s rights remain at the forefront of the conversation. These elections demonstrate the great progress Afghan women have made. We in the West as well as a new government in Afghanistan have a responsibility to protect this progress in any dialogue and keep the path clear for the women of Afghanistan.

Gretchen Birkle is director of the Women’s Democracy Network at the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. She served as a monitor for Afghanistan’s August 20, 2009 presidential and provincial council elections.