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by photographer James Reeve
FiftyCrows International Fund for Documentary Photography
2004 Central Asia and the Caucasus competition
Category 2: Outside the Region Winner
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Image of
©2004 James Reeve |
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Photographer's Statement
During their reign, the fierce Taliban warriors notoriously implemented a catalogue of restrictions on the people of Afghanistan, enforced by harsh corporal punishment and executions. Weather forecasting was one such banned activity, although those particularly targeted were women, whose education, employment, access to medical services, and general mobility were severely limited. In "Banned", James Reeve counters the gory, desolate, and disparaging images of a war-torn Afghanistan most commonly offered by the mainstream media. Visiting such sites as a girl's school in West Kabul, a Police Academy in Kabul with female recruits, a driving school with female students, and alas, a slowly recovering weather agency, Reeve’s essay speaks judiciously of the country's spirit of change without neglecting the limits of progress. Instead of rendering his subjects as ruined victims, he looks towards the dignity and determination of the Afghan people despite past and continuing adversity. Reeve hopes to illuminate a broader vision of present-day Afghanistan as well as to encourage a globally-shared spirit of positive change for Afghanistan’s future.
Photographer’s website
http://www.shootandscribble.com |
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Extensive list of Taliban restrictions imposed on Afghan women |
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Women in Afghanistan Fear New Taliban-Like Rule
May 15 2003. Women’s Enews article describes a women's rights activist struggle to publicize the persecution of women in post-Taliban Afghanistan, where fundamentalist pressures are returning and the burqa is back. |
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Taliban kisses goodbye to lipstick, movies
July 19, 2001 CNN.com article describing many of the more peculiar Taliban bans. |
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Weather forecasting, banned by Taliban, makes a comeback in Afghanistan
Article on the issues surrounding the revival of the Afghanistan Meteorological Authority.
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News articles on banned activities, hosted by RAWA (Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan)
http://www.rawa.org/herat3.htm
http://www.rawa.org/ban-singer.htm
http://www.rawa.org/beaten.htm
http://www.rawa.org/tvban.htm
http://www.rawa.org/marriage.htm
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Afghan News Network
Daily news feed about issues affecting Afghanistan |
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Afghan Daily
An Afghan news portal from World News Network |
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Aïna
A non-profit organization for education, training and information for the development of independent media and cultural expression in Afghanistan. Founded in August 2001 by world-renowned Iranian photojournalist, Reza. |
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Taliban by Ahmed Rashid
(Yale Nota Bene 2001. ISBN 0300089023)
An excellent study and explanation on the Taliban’s rise to power and role in the international political eye. Includes Appendix with extensive list of the Taliban’s decrees for banned activities. A New York Times Bestseller. |
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My Forbidden Face: Growing Up Under the Taliban - A Young Woman's Story, by Latifa
(Miramax Books, 2003. ISBN: 1401359256)
The testimony of a teenage girl growing up in Afghanistan. Recounts life under the many edicts implemented against women by the Taliban. |
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The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad
(Virago Press, 2004. ISBN: 1844080471)
Norwegian war correspondent, Åsne Seierstad describes in fictional style, the intimate lives of one family while living with them for three months. She exposes the demeaning patriarchic system and provides a unique insight into a country that has so long been closed to western eyes. |
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Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future
by Sunita Mehta
(Palgrave MacMillan, 2002. ISBN: 1403960178)
A collection of essays by a group comprised of both Afghan and non-Afghan women writers speaking out for a global sisterhood and the importance of feminist activism on an international level. Formed in April 2001 the group is committed to the struggle for Afghan women's human rights. |
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With All Our Strength: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
by Anne Brodsky
Routledge (USA) |
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Osama , 2004
http://www.osamamovie.com
The first feature film made in Post-Taliban Afghanistan. Presented in Dari Arabic with English subtitles. “Osama”, a film by Afghan director, Siddiq Barmak, examines the lives of the Afghan people, in particular a young girl, while under control of the Taliban government, but also the highlights the lingering problems even though the Taliban rule has ended. |
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Country Profile: Afghanistan |
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