On Saturday, October 27th a suicide bomber took the lives of 13 people and injured over 100 people all of whom were waiting in line to vote in the parliamentary election for Afghanistan. Over the past few days there have been many violent attacks on polling stations. Many of these attacks have been claimed by the Taliban as a way to stop people from voting to change the current political climate in the country. The UN has put pressure on Afghanistan to move towards a more Democratic form of government, in November there is a summit in Geneva and pressure has been put on for Afghanistan to show progress. In India women are being barred from entering The Sabarimala hindu temple, one of the holiest sites in the Hindu religion. Most temples in India do not have restrictions on who may enter. This specific temple unique, in that it has become a symbol for the traditional Hindu religion. Here, traditionalist are still able to adhere to caste fundamentals and patriarchal customs.
I find it interesting that many semi-developed countries are still fighting problems like voting and women’s equality, while in the United States these issues are well behind us. The issue of voting in particular interests me. The election is delayed by three years already and now that the government is finally allowing these elections, terrorists are attempting to sway people from voting. It amazes me how opposite other areas of the world are from what American citizens are used to, here we have no fear of voting at all and just about all places of worship of free of gender discrimination. The hope is that the world will shift towards a more democratic and equal treatment of all people.