Though Saeedi has spent his professional life photographing different conflict zones. This project focused exclusively on the people whose lives have been crushed by the war in Afghanistan over ayear period. Speaking the language, he was able to embed with the people. His images show us the humanity of people who have endured decades of war.
As Peace Talks With The Taliban Collapse, Afghan Women Demand To Be Heard
There was a window when real change seemed possible — before troops needed to stabilise Afghanistan were sent off to Iraq by Bush and Blair and the Taliban came back. Donald Trump was persuaded to send more troops to Afghanistan by being shown black and white photographs of women wearing miniskirts in Kabul in the s, so the story goes. Lieutenant General HR McMaster , his National Security Advisor, produced the pictures to illustrate what the country was like before the Taliban imposed their brutal and intolerant rule. It is unsurprising that Trump, a man of limited general knowledge, knew little of Afghan history. It was, however, predictable that the news would lead to some idiotic utterings. Those who have been to Afghanistan would know that people there do show similar photographs, often of members of their family, a reminder of a society lost to devastating decades of war.
Are old photos of ‘westernised’ Afghan women driving Trump’s foreign policy?
KABUL, Afghanistan — On the 16th day that Parwaneh was locked in her room, a group of armed men visited her, banged on the door, and demanded she followed their orders. It was , and Parwaneh had been taken hostage after she refused to marry the man to whom her father had promised her — hardly surprising given he was much older than her and already had one wife. Worse, he was a member of the Taliban, the Islamist group that has long made Afghanistan one of the worst places in the world to be a woman. She was warned that her father, who had already been paid for the promised engagement, would be killed.
Ed note. Sameela is a native of Afghanistan and gender equality advocate currently residing in the UK. The sun beats down on the snow streaked peaks, the winding river and the neat, square compounds of sandstone.