UNDER THE VEIL
The Taliban entered Kabul on 15th August last year, after being ousted from power almost exactly 20 years earlier. The extremist organisation is again wielding an iron fist in Afghanistan, reinstating Islamic law throughout society. The first to suffer are women, who are again forced hide behind their burkhas with their fundamental freedoms violated.
The Taliban entered Kabul on 15th August last year, after being ousted from power almost exactly 20 years earlier. The extremist organisation is again wielding an iron fist in Afghanistan, reinstating Islamic law throughout society. The first to suffer are women, who are again forced hide behind their burkhas with their fundamental freedoms violated.
Forced to flee her country, talented artist Fatimah Hossaini, 28, found refuge in France, bringing only her most precious photographs with her. All these images pay vibrant tribute to the unique beauty of Afghan women. These women have few opportunities to express themselves freely and face hurdles posed by the heavy cultural heritage they must bear every day. Their challenges are far more daunting than those faced by other women around the world.
The women photographed and celebrated by Fatimah Hossaini are beautiful and brave, showing dignity in the most trying of circumstances. This exhibition shows the many faces of this beauty, with women from Afghanistan’s different ethnic groups – Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, Qizilbash and Uzbek – dressed in their traditional costumes. Their features, gaze and pose convey femininity and hope. Here, beauty and peace come together, and peace is always beautiful.
At a time when, in the words of the writer Yasmina Khadra, “men have gone mad; they have turned their backs on the day in order to face the night”, let us not forget the fate of these women.
END OF THE BRIDGE