Summary

Chapter Eight returns to Heela and Musqinyar in Khas Uruzgan in mid-2004. At this time, Afghanistan’s first Presidential election was approaching and the couple received a letter stating that the United Nations (UN) was looking for workers to register local residents to vote. The letter specifically encouraged women to apply. Both Heela and Musqinyar volunteered and they began travelling from village to village registering residents. At first, many tribal leaders were resistant to the idea of women voting and refused to let Heela speak to them. The couple, however, devised a ruse in which Heela would pretend to hand out cheap medicine from the pharmacy and, when alone with groups of women, speak with them about voting and the upcoming election. She found a range of attitudes among the voters; some eagerly registered and agreed that a woman’s vote was...