Image: Apple TV
Three women in Afghanistan document their lives since the Taliban came to power. This resulted in the emotionally rich and very intimate documentary “Bread and Roses.”
Since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, women have been particularly victimized. Hidden behind veils and voiceless, they are slowly but surely disappearing from public view.
But Afghan women are fighting for their rights. Three brave women risked their lives to document their protests and lonely daily lives on camera. Women were also banned from making films.
This is how the documentary Bread and Roses was born. Actress Jennifer Lawrence, activist Malala Yousafzai and filmmaker Sahra Mani provide a platform and international voices to the campaign.
From left to right: Malala Yousafzai, Jennifer Lawrence, Justin Ciarrochi and Sarah Mani attend the Bread and Roses premiere in Los Angeles.Bild: Imagery
“Originally I didn't set out to make a film. The idea was just to preserve evidence of the women's movement in Afghanistan. “But then Jennifer Lawrence's team came to me and we decided to let the world see these videos and the power of Afghan women,” says Producer Mani told NPR.
Activist Malala Yousafzai, who was herself attacked by the Taliban in 2012, told CBS: “What really shocked me was that when you survive, people support You, but we're not going to focus on those who are still facing significant threats.”
“Twenty million women's lives are at risk,” Lawrence added. A 2022 United Nations investigation found that in Afghanistan “at least one or two women commit suicide every day because they see no way out and are under pressure.”
This desperation can also be felt in Bread and Roses. Because: “A woman's oppression begins at home. With her father, brother or husband,” the documentary begins. In the past, women could at least work, go to school, and leave home—things that are no longer possible since the Taliban came to power.
Since the Taliban came to power, women have been forced to sit at home.Image: Apple
Death threats from the Taliban
The documentary's protagonists try not to let this get them down. Zahra is one of them. She is a dentist and has her own practice. Initially, the Taliban allowed her to continue practicing, but she had to remove the signs from the streets. Zahra put up a bigger sign. She then received constant threats until she finally gave up the practice for her own safety. At one point, she even received death threats.
For a time, her clinic became a safe space for Zahra, her friends and other activists. They planned to protest, talk about their fears, or just eat together. But this refuge did not last long.
PhD. Zahra Mohammadi.Image: Apple
Kabul women have taken to the streets many times to demand education and financial freedom for girls and women. Protests often include heavily armed Taliban members. Women were frequently sprayed with tear gas, and water cannons were used during the cold winter months. Fights are not uncommon. Not only were women beaten, but journalists present were also victims of violence. Chanting “I'm a journalist” doesn't help.
The Taliban often bring women to such protests. It's unclear where they went or what happened. As the documentary puts it, hundreds of women are still being held by the Taliban in “questionable prison conditions.”
Although the Taliban is suppressing peaceful protests by Afghan women, they refuse to allow themselves to be defeated.Image: Apple TV
Fleeing left them in poverty
Activist Tara Noem fled to Pakistan, but her family remains in Kabul. She talks about a life filled with loneliness and uncertainty. “A big part of my pain is the pain of being a refugee. Homelessness, poverty,” Taranom said. What they did during their escape He took his clothes and 20 Afghans with him. Currently about 25 centimes.
«We feel how poor we are. This is the height of our suffering and displacement. “
taranom
Taranom fled to Pakistan.Image: Apple
In Pakistan, she lived in a house with other Afghan refugees. Occasionally someone manages to go to Europe and they all have a going-away party together. But such a trip requires a passport. There is still a lot of money.
The only freedom is to climb to the roof
Sharifa was employed by the government before the Taliban came to power, and she has since been forced to stay at home. Her only joy was teaching her mother to read and helping her younger brother study.
Sharifah, former government employee. Image: Apple
Her mother did not allow Sharifa to attend the demonstrations. She worries about her daughter. Her only freedom is to hang the laundry on the roof. Still, she wanted to help. She sneaked out of her apartment and passed out food with her friends.
“I miss everything we had. Everything was taken away from me.”
Sharifah
She often talks to her family about the current state of the country. «Women should work and study. It’s wrong for them to wear headscarves while living at home,” her father said. Sharifa’s mother agreed:
“It's all so backwards. In Afghanistan, women are slaves.”
At the end of the documentary, Sharifa says the Taliban took Zahra months ago. No one knows where she is, her clinic is empty and the door is locked from the outside.
Bread and Roses features images that the public has almost never seen before. The recordings are intimate, raw and impressive – many shot on a mobile phone.
By the time the documentary was released, Zahra, Taranom and Sharifa had all safely left the country. But millions of other women remain trapped in the country they once loved. No job, no money, no future.
Bread and Roses is available to watch on Apple TV+.
More information about women in Afghanistan:
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