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Photos: Portraits of Afghanistan’s female lawmakers

March 28, 2014 9:23AM ET

AP photographer Anja Niedringhaus made portraits of some of the 69 women in the country’s 249-seat parliament

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Afghanistan
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Afghanistan female lawmaker
Afghan lawmaker Habiba Danish from Takhar next to the picture wall in the parliament in Kabul showing Afghanistan’s 249 parliamentarians. Under Afghan law, 20 percent of council member seats are reserved for women, who are also figuring prominently in presidential campaigns. Three presidential hopefuls have taken the bold step of choosing a woman as a running mate, including one of the front-runners. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Afghan lawmaker Hamida Ahmadzai, who represents Afghanistan’s Kuchi tribes, inside the Afghan parliament in Kabul. “In our parliament we have 69 women — that is a large number, bigger even than European parliaments,” she says. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Fatema Aziz from Kunduz in the parliament in Kabul. Under Taliban rule, women rarely left their homes. When they did venture beyond their four walls, they were covered from head to toe in the all-encompassing burqa. While most women in conservative Afghanistan may still wear the burqa, today’s Afghan woman has choices she never had before, like running for parliament. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Samia Azizi Sadat from Parwan holding her picture, which hangs on the wall among Afghanistan’s 249 parliamentarians. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Habiba Sadat from Helmand poses under pictures of former presidents of Afghanistan's lower house in the parliament in Kabul. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Toorpekai Patman from Kabul with guards of honor in the parliament. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Kobra Mustafawi from Kabul in the entrance hall of the Afghan parliament. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Shukria Kaihan from Kunduz poses under an oil painting in the parliament. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Sima Joyanda from Ghor in the entrance hall of the Afghan parliament. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Afghanistan female lawmaker
Lawmaker Fawzia Koofi from Kabul next to the picture wall showing Afghanistan’s 249 parliamentarians. Anja Niedringhaus/AP

When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, women rarely left their home.

When they did venture beyond their four walls, they wafted through crowded markets covered from head to toe in the all-encompassing burqa. While most women in conservative Afghanistan may still wear the burqa, today's Afghan woman has choices she didn't have during the Taliban rule that lasted from the mid-1990s to 2001 — like running for parliament.

In the last elections in 2010, 69 women won seats in Afghanistan's 249-seat parliament. The next parliamentary vote will be held in 2015, but first are the April 5 presidential and provincial council elections.

Under Afghan law, 20 percent of council member seats are reserved for women, who are also figuring prominently in presidential campaigns. Three presidential hopefuls have taken the bold step of choosing a woman as a running mate, including one of the front-runners.

Habiba Danish, a legislator from northern Takhar province, said she was the top vote getter in her province in the last parliamentary polls. Throughout the country, including in the south and the east where the hard-line Taliban are waging a stubborn insurgency, women have been elected to parliament.

"In our Parliament we have 69 women, that is a large number, bigger even than European parliaments," said Hamida Ahmadzai, who represents Afghanistan's nomadic Kuchi tribes.

Saima Khogyani, a lawmaker from eastern Nangarhar province, where Taliban routinely stage violent attacks to warn voters away from the polls, says she is not afraid.

"We have our rights and we have our free speech now," she said. "The men in Parliament might not always listen to us, but we can say whatever we want."

Associated Press