Pt 1: Afghan Election - It has been one week since Afghans went to the polls to elect a new President. And it will be at least several more before anyone knows who won. Only one-in-five votes have been tallied so far. And widespread accusations of ballot stuffing and voter intimidation have cast a pall over the election.



Pt 2: The Laws Between Worlds - Documentary - In April, Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a law that shocked even some of his most ardent supporters. The law would have made it illegal for a Shiite woman to refuse her husband sex or to leave the house without his permission. After intense criticism, President Karzai has now ordered a constitutional review of the law.

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Today's summer guest host was David Michael Lamb.

It's Thursday, August 27th.

Early results suggest that only a third of Afghanistan's eligible voters cast a ballot in last week's Presidential election.

Currently ... Officials say the results will stand however ... since most of those people voted at least three times.

This is The Current.

Afghan Election - Update

It has been one week since Afghans went to the polls to elect a new President. And it will be at least several more before anyone knows who won. Only one-in-five votes have been tallied so far. And widespread accusations of ballot stuffing and voter intimidation have cast a pall over the election.

Partial results released yesterday gave current President, Hamid Karzai, a significant lead over his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. But it's unclear if those numbers will stand or if the final results will be seen as legitimate. The CBC's Susan Ormiston is covering the election and she was in Kabul.

Afghan Election - Alive in Afghanistan

As Susan mentioned, allegations of electoral fraud are being widely reported in Afghanistan. But it's difficult to get a sense of how significant a problem the country is really facing. And that's where Alive in Afghanistan comes in.

The organizers of the project are using text messaging, Twitter and other social-networking media to solicit reports from Afghan citizens. They then investigate the reports and compile the results. Brian Conley is the coordinator of Alive in Afghanistan and the founder of Small World News. He was in Philadelphia.

Afghan Elections - Taylor

No matter who wins the election, there are some observers who say that the real power will remain far away from Kabul in the hands of tribal leaders and warlords who have become adept at resisting any kind of central authority. Scott Taylor is the Publisher of Esprit de Corps Military Magazine and he was in Ottawa.

The Laws Between Worlds - Documentary

In April, Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a law that shocked even some of his most ardent supporters. The law would have made it illegal for a Shiite woman to refuse her husband sex or to leave the house without his permission. After intense criticism, President Karzai has now ordered a constitutional review of the law.

But the experience has left many people wondering just how deep a mark the Taliban has left on the country and how that legacy should be confronted. Brishkay Ahmed is a documentary producer who lives in Vancouver. She was born in Afghanistan. And she remembers a time when the country's laws promised equal rights to men and women.

Last year, she went back to Kabul to visit a place called the Family Guidance Centre. It is run by an organization called "Women for Afghan Women." At the centre, Afghan lawyers and councilors fight -- one client at a time -- to reinstate the equality that once existed in Afghanistan. Brishkay Ahmed's documentary is called The Laws Between Worlds. It first aired on The Current in June.

Since the Family Guidance Centre opened in Kabul in 2007, about 500 women and girls have received counseling and mediation services to resolve family conflicts. The centre gets about 40 to 50 new cases every month. The centre's shelter, which is hidden in another part of Kabul, houses 35 women and 20 children at any one time.

Many of the centre's clients travel from rural provinces where the kinds of services it provides do not exist. Since the centre in Kabul first opened, three other centres like it have opened in other parts of the country. The staff say the goal is to one day open a centre in the Taliban-dominated province of Kandahar.

Letters

Before we ended the program this morning ... we heard from many of you about yesterday's story about the Federal Government move to eliminate certain words from use in Canada's foreign service among them "child soldier," and "gender equality." The Current's John Chipman joined David Michael Lamb in studio to share some of your thoughts on the subject.

And we have a story to update you on. A few weeks ago we discussed the plans to build a landfill on top of the Alliston Aquifer near Barrie, Ontario ... an aquifer that contains some of the purest water ever tested. On Tuesday, the Simcoe County Council passed a one year moratorium on any further development on the Aquifer. Some opponents believe the landfill will now be shelved.