CLOTHING AND CANDIDATES

In a multi-ethnic country such as Afghanistan, the style of clothing of a candidate is as important as what he says.

He wears the most multiethnic apparel.

He often wears the salwar- kameez, a long knee – length dress with baggy trousers – very common among Afghans. It is matched with two accessories typical of the northern minorities (Tajiks, Turkmens and Uzbeks): the chapan, a silk mantle, usually striped, and the karakul, a rigid hat made of sheep’s wool.

But when he goes down south, he wears the longi of Kandahar, a black silk turban.

And if he wants to underline the ties with the Western world, he wears a black jacket.

He was an ophthalmologist and became a central figure in the North Alliance that drove out the Talebans in 2001; he was eventually appointed as minister for foreign affairs.

He has a preference for Italian suits and ties, but when he is in the midst of the Tajiks (his main followers) of the Panjshir valley, region of Badakhshan, he usually wears the salwar kameez and the pakol, a round hat made of wool, a symbol of the Mujadhins during the Jihad.

Sometimes he likes to play with his multi-ethnic roots and matches chapan and longi.

In order to compensate for the many years spent abroad (he graduated at Columbia University and has worked for the World Bank; he returned to Afghanistan only after 9/11 to become Minister for Financial Affairs), he often wears traditional outfits, usually a white salwar kameez with a V-neck waistcoat.

When he is among his fellow Pashtuns, he adds the turban.

But when he has to address his electorate in Kabul, he goes back to male western -style clothes.