Afghans vote.

Three years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan has achieved a milestone. On October 9, the nation held its first-ever free presidential election. "At last we are human!" said one elderly Afghan woman in Kandahar.

As is the custom in public, women stood in separate lines, or had to use separate polling places from men. But they turned out with enthusiasm.

Across the nation, nearly two thirds of an estimated 12 million eligible voters went to the polls. Weeks later, interim President Hamid Karzai was declared the winner over his 17 opponents.

In an interview with JS, President Karzai said that the people of Afghanistan were determined to overcome their difficult past and that the election was an important step: It's an ongoing process. We are building a state and the institutions of state here. It will not be built in one day." (Elections for parliamentary seats are scheduled for next April.)

Afghans were relieved that threats of Taliban violence did not keep people from voting. "They told all the world, we will not let the election happen, but they failed," said one official.

There were some problems. Fourteen people, mostly police officers and soldiers, were killed in election-day violence. Karzai's opponents also leveled charges of fraud, but agreed to accept the decision of an independent panel that is investigating the charges.

Even so, for many Afghans, the election was a promising new start. "When you see women here lined up to vote, this is something profound," said one woman in Kabul, the capital, who had brought all four of her daughters to vote. "I could not imagine this day would come."

On November 16, PBS will air Afghanistan Unveiled, a documentary by and about young Afghan women filmmakers. For a profile of Mehria Azizi, one of the young women in the film, see your Teacher's Edition,