Profiles in courage ... purple fingers indicate voting in Taliban-intimidating Afghanistan

The purple-stained finger is the Afghanistan equivalent to Americans' "I Voted" stickers on election day with a huge difference: Afghans take their lives in their hands as they defy the Taliban's threats of election day violence.

Melissa Charbonneau wrote at the George W. Bush Presidential Center blog:

Millions of Afghans witnessed a colorful display of democracy in action as voters flocked to the polls to vote in historic presidential elections. Twitter and Facebook are brimming with images of Afghan women emerging from polling centers cloaked in blue burqas, some wearing headscarves, others carrying  toddlers – but all holding up fingers stained with purple election ink, a gesture of defiance against Taliban intimidation and a return to past oppression.

In a country where women are trying to find their place and are outnumbered 2-to-1 by male voters, a determined lot braved Taliban threats to not only vote in Saturday's elections but also to proudly show off their purple-stained fingers:

Millions of Afghans witnessed a colorful display of democracy in action Saturday as voters flocked to the polls to vote in historic presidential elections. Twitter and Facebook are brimming with images of Afghan women emerging from polling centers cloaked in blue burqas, some wearing headscarves, others carrying toddlers – but all holding up fingers stained with purple election ink, a gesture of defiance against Taliban intimidation and a return to past oppression.

Read more about the women who have been oppressed under Taliban rule but who bravely stepped out to vote for the future of Afghanistan and young women in that country.