AFGHAN WOMEN: a history of struggle

AFGHAN WOMEN: a history of struggle

    Price: $310.00

    Code: 2293

    Directed by Kathleen Foster
    2007, 69 minutes
    Purchase: $310 Classroom Rental: $125

    The tumultuous history of Afghanistan from the perspective of the country's female population, Afghan Women: A History of Struggle chronicles the stories of women who have risked their lives to achieve political, economic, and social equality, from the early 1970s to the present day.

    Rare archival footage illustrates the amazing stories of women who participated in the revolutionary movement of the 1970's and the years of political turmoil that followed: from proxy war, to civil war, to the ensuing oppressive rule of the Taliban and the current sway of regional warlords and general instability.

    These women shed light on the cold war battle between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R that was played out on Afghan soil, and the CIA's role in the creation of terrorist groups on the Pakistan-Afghan border that plague the world today.

    The film goes inside a women's prison. It records the drafting of an Afghan Women's Bill of Rights by women from across Afghanistan at a conference in Kandahar. In scenes like these women debunk the commonly held myth that the U.S. intervention and the fall of the Taliban government brought Afghan women freedom.

    Directed by Kathleen Foster (Point of Attack), Afghan Women is an important film that explores the role women play in developing nations.

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    Reviews

    Highly Recommended . An exceptionally powerful documentary. Should be required viewing for history and women’s studies classes. The elements of the film are sure to invite discussion.” - Educational Media Reviews Online

    “A refreshing and rare vision of Afghan women’s complex and active roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, during the communist era prior to and after the Soviet invasion and occupation in the 1980s. The film offers an important and arguably necessary counter to the plethora of post-September 11, 2001, films about Afghan women that highlight their victimization under the Taliban and glorify the U.S.-led invasion and occupation and the so-called salvation/liberation of Afghan women.” - Films for the Feminist Classroom

    “At last, a concise, well-made documentary chronicling the history of women's struggle for their rights in Afghanistan. Excellent historic footage of pre-Taliban and Soviet-era Afghanistan. Filmmaker Kathleen Foster casts her journalistic eye to provide insight and a holistic view of the history of the Afghan women’s movement.” – Nadai Hablika, MESA FilmFest Coordinator

    “Classes such as women’s studies, contemporary issues, and world geography will find the detailed history thought provoking. Literature classes studying novels such as Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns will find background value in this film… Excellent footage from pre-Taliban and Soviet-era Afghanistan illustrates the upheaval in the nation and in women’s rights. Interviews with activists such as Afghan-American Fahima Vorgetts recreate the history, while traditional music and women singing plays on the soundtrack.” - School Library Journal

    “...provides a sharp yet concise analysis on the tumultuous history of the country itself, with particular focus on the negative repercussions that US military intervention has had on women’s rights in the country. Drawing a line from the Cold War to the ‘War on Terror,’ Foster challenges viewers to examine how Afghan women have continually borne the dual costs of American imperial ambitions on the one side, and the barbarity of feudal warlords on the other.” - Prerana Reddy, Director of Public Events, Queens Museum of Art