By MASSUD AHMADI

HERAT CITY - I met Shukria in Herat city's central park. A young woman, she sat under the shade of a tree, shrouded in a black veil. Shukria was recently released from a woman's prison in Herat, but that wasn't necessarily good news. 

"I don't want to go back home," she said. 

Shukria was arrested two years ago for running away from home, where she says her step-siblings and step-mother abused her and were trying to force her into a marriage with an older man.

"I think the condition of women and girls living in cities is relatively good," she said. "This is not the case in rural villages where girls have to accept their fate or face violence."

Shukria started to cry as she told her story. 

By SEDIQ ZALIQ

Election Day is in less than two weeks and with the campaigns in high gear, nominees are spending more money in a final push to win votes.

In Kabul about 700 nominees are vying for 31 seats in parliament. Most nominees claim to be independent, but many nominees are promoting their associations with other political leaders.

Thousands of billboards and posters have been distributed throughout the capital, signaling that thousands of dollars have been spent.

A nominee, who asked that his name not be used, told Kabul Weekly that he printed 50,000 posters and distributed them across the city even though his campaign funds and support are limited. If all nominees print an average of 50,000 posters, that would amount to more than three million posters.

In addition to campaign literature, nominees have opened campaigning offices, invited voters for meals, built mosques and fixed roadside drainages to carry favor with voters. In many cases nominees are also buying election cards.