A group of women artists have recently managed to smuggle collections of artwork out of Afghanistan to Germany to hold an exhibition, depicting the oppressive state of women and girls under Taliban rule.
These artists, who fled to Germany following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, broke the Taliban’s strict rules to move their paintings out of the country despite extreme risks, but they say saving the artworks was worth it.
One of the artists, Nafisa Saeedy, told Deutsche Welle (DW) that the paintings portray the harsh conditions of women and girls in Afghanistan, whose rights have been curtailed by the Taliban bans.
“These paintings show the problems that people face under the Taliban rule,” she said.
“Since the Taliban seized power, girls and women are not allowed to paint at universities and all the galleries have been closed down… because of the Taliban’s belief that they don’t want a human face or body to be painted,” she added.
Saeedy did not disclose how these artworks were smuggled, citing security reasons.
She said if the Taliban finds out how they managed to smuggle these paintings, it would make them “angry”.
The Taliban fears if the international community realizes how the group treats women and girls in Afghanistan, she added.
The Taliban has severely restricted art and music, which were flourishing in the past two decades. While the group has not officially banned art, it has imposed a number of restrictions on artists and musicians, including banning women from singing and dancing and threatening to punish those who violate the ban with imprisonment or even death.
Many artists have fled the country, fearing for their work and their lives. They have relocated to a number of countries, including Germany, France, and the United States. Others are waiting for resettlement in third countries, mainly in Pakistan.
