WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES – The Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai have joined forces to collaborate with the renowned Afghanistan filmmaker Sahra Mani to shed light on the Taliban’s abuse of women in Afghanistan.
In an interview with the Guardian on Thursday, April 18th, the Hollywood actress emphasized the necessity for the world to acknowledge the resilience of Afghan women, urging for collective action to hold the Taliban accountable.
Directed by Sahra Mani, the documentary titled “Bread & Roses” explores the oppression of Afghan women by the Taliban following the withdrawal of US military forces from the country in 2021.
The movie tells the story of three women: one who confines herself at home to comply with Taliban laws, another who, as a dentist and activist, ends up in jail because of her activism, and the third who seeks refuge in Pakistan while mourning her homeland.
“Strong women are not easy women and a woman’s life is lonely.” Jennifer Lawrence said.
“So much of our experience cannot be shared or understood by men, and our rights are in their hands. That’s why we need each other,” she added.
“How can you not see me as an equal? It’s a massive betrayal. How could you raise a daughter from birth and believe that she doesn’t deserve equality?” she asked.
Following the takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban attempted to project a more moderate image to gain international support. However, in the weeks that followed, the regime enforced the same strict interpretation of Islamic law as during their rule in the late 1990s.
Sahra Mani is the director of the highly acclaimed film A Thousand Girls Like Me and was a lecturer at Kabul University before the Taliban’s return to power which barred women from teaching and pursuing arts.
Her cinematic work has been exploring women’s resilience in navigating Afghanistan’s complex socio-cultural terrain long before the Taliban emerged as the primary adversary of their agency and power.
Over the past years, the majority of the world, including Islamic nations and organizations, has condemned the Taliban’s misogynistic policies, calling on the regime to abide by international laws and uphold the fundamental rights of women.
The Taliban, however, argue that their policies and practices are rooted in Islamic Sharia law and Afghan traditions, claiming that human rights and equality are Western concepts that clash with Islamic principles.
Malala was quoted in the report saying, “If you are born as a girl in Afghanistan, the systematic gender oppression by the Taliban has decided your future for you. This is the worst form of discrimination: women denied every basic right and opportunity.”
“We are joining each other to share empathy, and solidarity with all Afghan women.”
The director of the movie, Sahra Mani, was quoted in the report, saying, “What Afghan women face today has not come from God. They are victims of male politicians who made a wrong decision – and children and women pay the price.”
“We shouldn’t trust them. If Afghan women are paying the price today, the rest of the world may pay tomorrow. We don’t want something horrible like 9/11 to happen again.”
She also criticized the weekly UN cash shipments to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, saying that it appears the West is financing its own destruction.
“We handed part of our world to terrorists and told them: ‘You can have it! Plus: we will pay you millions of dollars every week!’ The Taliban receives a lot of financial support from international communities without any accountability,” Mani said.
