00:01:00:00
“AINA presents”
< Title music>
00:01:47:15
“Shadows”
00:02:12:08
NARRATION by Mary
My name is Mary and I live in Kabul. I was born during the war, and I grew up during the war. I remember the suffering of those days and I can never forget. My mother wants me to be a doctor and until recently I studied medicine for one semester at Kabul university. I was excited to study but everything changed we I failed my exams. Even though I was a good student I knew that I would never pass due to corruption in the faculty. It was very difficult to leave because I wanted to make my mother’s dream comes true. But I felt that I had no choice It was the hardest decision of my life... so far.
I am very hangry not to have been able to continue my study, but now I have made the decision to be a video journalist and I am working in Aina.
00:03:20:00
I am making a film and I want to discover my country and meet women like me who have very different destinies.
00:03:39:07 SUBTITLES, question by woman journalist
Mary, excuse me, can you tell me why you want to make this film?
00:03:44:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
-The reason why I want to make this film is because in Kabul the wommen have a good life...
- A reasonable life, no, a good life...
- I want to know what type of life the women in the provinces have.
00:04:05:12: TITLE SONG (original)
“I will rebuild you my homeland
Even with the bricks of my soul
I will be the pillar in your ceiling
Even if it takes the bone in my body
Even if it takes the bone in my body
I will rebuild you my homeland
Even with the bricks of my soul
I will be the pillar in your ceiling
Even if it takes the bone in my body
Even if it takes the bone in my body
I will give you back your strength
With the courage of your people.”
00:05:04:02 NARRATION by Mary
Kabul has become a different city, girls are going to school and women can work. Reconstruction has begun and this is the first time that I have seen women working in the streets.
00:05:20:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green)
We are happy to be working and that we are free to work. It is our livelihood.
All the workers are respectful towards the women.
Everyone that sees us, express their admiration.
Women should put their hands together, work alongside their brothers and build the country.
It is a way of making a legitimate livelihood.
00:05:46:19 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
How did you feel when you started operating the machine for the first time?
00:05:50:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green)
We felt very happy. It was difficult for us but we were eager to learn and we made an effort.
00:05:58:04 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Weren’t you scared?
00:05:59:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green):
No.
Women worker 2 (black):
We can operate both the small and big machines.
00:06:09:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Who taught you?
00:06:11:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Our teacher... There he is!
00:06:24:08 NARRATION by Mary (zoom out women workers)
There is a feeling of hope for everyone but throughout Afghanistan there are still many problems for women.
00:06:36:07
When I was thirteen years old my father was murdered, and I lost the best person in my life. He was a teacher. He used to tell me stories about the hot weather and the people in Mazar-e-Sharif. Now, I am going to this Northern city for the first time.
00:07:10:17 NARRATION by Mary (on the road)
On the way I am surrounded by the high peaks of Salang which reaches the sky. I am taken by the beauty. During the taliban time, I once drove through here to escape the war, but at that time I didn’t see it the way I am seeing it today. I feel like a child again, and as the wind sweaps through the valley, it’s so strong that I think it’s going to take me away with it.
00:07:52:14 < Mazar-e-Sharif>
00:09:09:20 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you?
00:09:16:10 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you? Will you talk to me?
00:09:19:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 1 in burqa)
No, thanks.
00:09:20:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
- Why?
(Women 1 in burqa)
- I am bying fabric!
00:09:25:23 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
How are you? Can you talk with me for a moment?
00:09:29:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 2 in burqa)
No, we don’t want to talk!
00:09:34:12 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Why don’t you want to talk?
00:09:45:18 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, uncle*. How are you? (uncle: respect title use for elder and wide people)
I have come here to speak with women but they won’t talk to me.
What do you think is the reason for that?
00:10:00:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Uncle)
The reason is people are left behind. They are illiterate. That is the reason.
Do you understand? Understand? Nothing else.
00:10:29:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you?
00:10:32:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
I am illiterate, sister.
00:10:36:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young boy in the background)
There is no freedom, women have to wear burqas!
00:10:43:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
For the sisters, for women, I mean for the people that are uneducated, they should wear a burqha.
There was nothing in Afghanistan, let alone going to school! What days they were!
00:10:55:02 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
As you and I know, thankfully, we are all Muslims.
Islam says that seeking knowledge is every man and woman’s duty.
00:11:00:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
Now, I think about my own children. We didn’t study but they should.
We weren’t educated, our future was ruined.
00:11:08:08 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Do you want them to be educated?
00:11:10:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
Yes, yes. We are happy for our sons and daughters to be educated.
So that they can learn and know more about the world.
00:11:59:23 NARRATION by Mary
The majority of people in Afghanistan are illiterate and Mazar women are able to visit the famous shrine Zaghidjan where they learn from talking to each other.
00:12:32:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED by Mary
This the first time that I have come to this holy shrine.
I feel very happy and very lucky to be here with this many women around me.
I am very happy!
00:12:54:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women in mosque)
I came here with good faith to pray for my children so that they won’t suffer any hardships.
00:13:13:18 NARRATION by Mary
Some women come here on Wednesdays to feel closer to God. Their prays set them free. This holy shrine is the only secure meeting place for women to come to and be rescued from the darkness of their lives.
00:13:39:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women in mosque)
My life is very difficult.
Regardless of that, my only wish is that the weapons are collected in Mazar-e-Sharif.
I want the commanders to leave and the weapons to be collected.
So that we can go somewhere and be free.
When we see armed gun men, our blood runs cold.
We are terrified.
00:14:22:12 NARRATION by Mary
As I leave Mazar I hope that in the future, the women will feel more confident to talk with me.
00:14:40:01 < Kabul >
00:14:41:18 NARRATION by Mary
Back in Kabul. I cannot forget that I left University, and I am still furious about this.
00:14:51:00 NARRATION by Mary
I know that I was not alone with my problems in the Medical Faculty and that a lot of students still have difficulties there. When I was a student I could never say what I felt because I was scared, but I hope to find a girl who has the courage to talk.
00:15:20:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED
(Girl 1 in a group at University whispering)
No, no, it’s not important...
(Mary)
No, I just...
(Girl 2 in a group at University whispering)
When the head of the faculty asks the teachers to help his daughters pass...
(Girl 3 in a group at University whispering)
Don’t worry! Another boy mentioned about Nooran’s daughter...
(Girl 1 in a group at University whispering)
You are right! And I argued with Nooran’s daughter!
00:15:44:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Girls group 2 at University)
No, no, no, I won’t talk!
00:15:49:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED by Mary
They want to talk about their problems.
But they are scared to talk on camera because it will create problems for them in the coming years.
If the authorities find out then they could be dropped from the course.
So they don’t want to talk on camera.
(Mary to the girls’ group)
You don’t want to talk? Can you cover your face and talk to me?
00:16:15:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (a girl scared at university)
You are filming the exam results? My name is there as well!
00:16:16:21 Mary answering
No, no, I’m not! Find some girls who will talk to me with their faces hidden... Come on!
< Actor’s voice >
00:16:27:19 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Would you please introduce yourself?
00:16:30:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl interviewed hidden face)
No, I don’t want to introduce myself.
They are a lot of problems in the medical faculty. Students face many problems with their studies.
They are problems with the lectures, with the teachers and their behaviour with students.
Talent is ignored here.
Only those who have money or satisfy the teachers’ requests can study here.
I have decided to leave.
00:16:259:14 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Why do you want to leave?
00:17:01:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl interviewed hidden face)
I told you, because there are so many problems.
If you were me, would you continue your studies?
00:17:14:23 NARRATION by Mary
I left the faculty because I did not have the money for bribes. I don’t know anyone powerful and I would never let someone touch me. The day of the exams results remind me of the pressure I felt as a student.
00:17:33:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (director of the faculty)
You are behaving like hooligans!
By God, if you keep this up, then none of you third year student will pass!
Don’t come to me with your problems.
Go and make a petition with someone, over there.
What is this? What is this?
00:17:53:19 NARRATION by Mary
When the Director of the faculty, Doctor Shaghali, behave like this, it is clear to me that nothing has changed.
It is time to leave again.
00:18:22:02 NARRATION by Mary
I am in the center of Afghanistan, in the forgotten province of Khor, for three days I have been travelling by road to the town of Chaghcharan. I know nothing about this poor and remote area but I want to find out about the lifes of women in such a distant place.
00:18:40:22 < Chaghcharan >
00:19:32:21 NARRATION by Mary
In the dusty streets of Chaghcharan, I feel one hundred eyes watching me.
00:19:42:04 NARRATION by Mary
SONG SUBTITLED (singer 1)
“On the day of battle, he tooks his horse “Dildel”
My brother, even deadpeople know...
This talisman is for the evil eye, for someone’s house, children or possessions.
00:20:05:14 NARRATION by Mary
I learn that there is only one hospital and one female doctor in the entire Province and I am glad that at least there is this.
00:20:18:06 NARRATION by Mary
In this town, there is also a girl’s school, and I meet with Aziza, a student who takes me to speak with her father. When I see the maturity of her body, I know that she shouldn’t be in the seventh class. And I think if that she had been educated from a young age then she could be in University by now.
00:20:52:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
I was told that, at first, you and her brothers did not let her go to school.
Can you tell me about that?
Why didn’t you want her to go to school.
00:21:07:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (father of Aziza in Chaghcharan)
This is Chaghcharan, the environment of Chaghcharan!
In Chaghcharan, people haven’t seen these things yet.
Before our people were ashamed to send women to school.
Women did not go to school, there were only boys school.
But now, they understand that school is a good place. I told her to study, if she wants to.
It is not a problem.
It is not possible for a woman to make this choice. A woman is under the control of her husband.
If her husband lets her, then she can go to school. If not, then she can’t. She is not free to go to school.
00:22:03:05 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Aziza)
In my opinion, the Prophet says that Muslim men and women should obtain knowledge.
Women have the right to study and to defend their rights.
Why are we not studying? Why don’t we seek knowledge?
We have to do this!
00:22:29:17 NARRATION by Mary
It’s a good lesson for me and I think that if Afghanistan had not been destroyed then it would have been more developed. Now it is very late for this Country to be reformed.
00:23:04:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young boy speech)
We come to school with lots of enthusiasm. School teaches knowledge and intelligence.
00:23:11:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
Well done! Raise your hands.
Well done, my daughter!
No we know who the intelligent ones are!
00:23:23:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young girl pray)
In the name of almighty Allah, who is the most merciful and kind “Peace and Reconciliation”
Listen my dear what a nice saying this is.
A peaceful deed is better than all other deeds, my dear
Devastation, ruins and death are the results of war
Obey God’s ordain and go his way God’s mercy is upon those who seek peace
00:23:43:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
Well done! A big hand for her!
We will distribute cooking oil to the students who are present...
And precise with their attendance. Understand?
If someone is not present and they don’t get anything, then it’s not our fault!
Now, line up two by two and go to your classes.
00:24:18:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
I have about six hundred students and I went home by home to enrol them in the school.
At first their fathers didn’t let them, their brothers didn’t let them.
I went to their homes for four or five days, to persuade them to let the girls come to school.
I worked with their fathers, brothers, mothers and the girls themselves to prepare them for school.
Then their fathers and brothers gave permission.
00:25:06:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Aziza in school)
The girls who do not come to school are not allowed to by their fathers and brothers.
The people are very bad here, girls are afraid of them.
That’s why they are not interested in school.
There must be someone to liberate and encourage them to go to school.
A lot of young girls are illiterate and busy with chores at home.
00:25:38:14 NARRATION by Mary
When I was at school I was lucky to have been taught with chairs but at that time there was war. Here, they are studying on the floor without chairs and without war and for a moment I think that they are luckier than me.
00:26:17:01 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
I want the parents, fathers and mothers to see how hard we are working for their daughters.
My only desire as a mother and older sister is for them to let their daughters come to school.
Let them enrol in school, let them be educated and learn something.
Then they can educate their own children, the future generation.
00:27:05:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
Go away.
Can’t you see the well?
They are coming toward the well.
00:27:13:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old man in girls school)
So what? They are human beings, don’t do that.
00:27:16:20 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
No, I am not beating them.
00:27:20:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old man in girls school)
What will these foreigners think? This is very bad.
00:27:25:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
Go away, girls, go away!
00:27:33:17 NARRATION by Mary
School was very important to me, and they were the happiest days of my life. During the fighting it felt like a safe place to be. It gives me hope to find girls being educated in such a remote part of the country.
00:27:56:00 NARRATION by Mary
On the way back home I think about the future I could have had, there are so many questions that I need answers to.
00:28:14:03 < Kabul >
00:28:32:05 NARRATION by Mary
Now, I have the courage to talk to someone powerful about my problems. I am going to meet Doctor Sherif Faes the Minister of Higher Education. I want him to know about the difficulties I faced and the hardships that remain for the students on the course and I am hoping that he will do something about that.
00:29:15:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary whispering)
Hello, how are you?
00:29:17:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Hello, how are you? Please sit down.
00:29:15:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
I witnessed a students’ demonstration in the medical faculty.
The students were complaining about the regulations that should be observed but are not.
I can tell you that there are definitely some students who are the daughters of professors
Or who have powerful connections who do not observe the regulations.
But other students must observe the regulations . Are you aware of this or not?
00:29:53:09 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Look, our purpose is to reform the medical faculty.
These reforms are with the students and also the administration and teachers in the faculty.
I am completely aware of everything!
The medical faculty is disorganized and some teachers were recruited by orders.
I am completely aware of this and we are investigating it.
00:30:20:01 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Something else, sir, is that teachers who are recruited by orders...
00:30:27:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
They were recruited...
00:30:28:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Yes, they were recruited...
00:30:29:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
They are not coming any more.
00:30:33:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Okay, they have some illigitimate requests from the girls and they request money from the boys.
What do you know about this and what have you done about it?
00:30:48:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
We are always looking for evidence. In these cases we are looking for witnesses.
If a student came to us with a document and told us that this teacher has illigitimate requests,
Which are against the regulations, then we would investigate it.
But the students have never brought us such documents.
00:31:16:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
But when I spoke to them, they told me...
00:31:20:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Look, there are some teachers who are not respecting the ministry’s regulations.
They are being investigated.
Inspectors are working in all the provinces which have medical faculties in Afghanistan.
00:31:41:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
On that day, most of the students were telling me that nobody listens to their complaints.
When they complain to Dr Cheragh Ali, who is the head of the medical faculty, he does not care.
On the same day, when I wanted to interview some of the students,
Dr Cheragh Ali attacked the cameraman who was with me.
I have footage of this and I want to show it to you now.
Medical students have a lot of complaints about the administration of the faculty.
Now, I want to show you the footage.
00:32:31:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know it.
00:32:41:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know about this.
00:32:44:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
I think if you see it, then you will know that even freedom of the press is not allowed.
00:32:56:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know everything about the difficulties in the medical faculty.
Students have been to my office several times.
I can tell you that the medical faculty is the biggest problem for the ministry of higher education.
00:33:15:16 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Do you have any more questions?
00:33:21:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
When this sister left the medical faculty, it was the best choice.
00:33:29:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Thank you, sir.
00:33:32:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
If you were my daughter, I would have told you to leave.
00:33:44:01 NARRATION by Mary
I feel that he has understood me, and I am pleased. I needed to hear that I was right to leave the medical faculty. I know now that I will never go back to Kabul University but I am frustrated about the corruption that remains there.
00:34:24:23 NARRATION by Mary
I am stronger and more confident than ever before.
00:34:33:13 < Kandahar>
00:34:53:16 NARRATION by Mary
I have always been afraid of Kandahar in the South of the country, it’s a city that has been the heart of political changes. For hundreds of years, it has decided the faith of this troubled land. Most recently, it was the former strong hold of the Taliban regime. I am scared to be here and it’s the first time that I have felt that I hate somewhere in my country. The faces on the street remind me of the taliban and the days I was beaten for no reason. For a minute, all of my dark memories return. But this time I am ready and I think that even if I die I must stand up to my fears.
00:35:46:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
Are you going to sit here with me?
When Afghanistan was liberated, I was the first woman to go to the police to apply for a job. I told them that I wanted to work to serve my country.
Our country is devastated and we should rebuild it together with our brothers.
I submitted my job application and I have been working ever since the liberation of my country.
00:36:22:11 NARRATION by Mary
Malalai is the only police woman in Kandahar.
She takes me to Mirwais Public Hospital.
00:36:41:16 NARRATION by Mary
She is here to help a young girl that was kidnapped three year ago and raped.
00:36:50:24 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
Someone has kidnapped this girl from Iran.
She escaped from his home and informed the police and we brought her to the hospital... she is sick.
We have brought her because she is a lady to be examined accordingto the legal process.
We need to know if she has been harmed by the criminal.
She knows her mother and father’s names and the name of the place she is from, nothing else. Someone from the Iranian Embassy should take photos of her to be published in Iran.
We will do the examination.
The criminal is in custody. We will take them to court and they will decide what happens.
My duty is to investigate, take her for examination and to look after her.
Then the court decides about her.
00:37:58:20 NARRATION by Mary
I see the pain on her face and the shame in her eyes and the sadness is too much. She is just thirteen years old. I hate myself for being a girl when she is a woman.
00:38:15:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
Did you work during the Taliban time?
00:38:17:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
Yes, I did.
00:38:19:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
How do you compare the present cases to that of the Taliban time? Are there less or more cases now?
00:38:24:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
No, there are more now. There are more cases now than during the Taliban regime.
There used to be one case every two or three months.
In the last eighteen months, there have been a lot more cases.
00:38:38:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
You mean, the situation for women is getting worse?
00:38:44:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
Yes, it’s getting worse.
In the Islamic soiety of Afghanistan, especially in the present situation in Kandahar,
These things effect our spirits very badly.
These things have to be stopped, a woman must not be sexually assaulted.
We have a lot of events like this.
There is no such things as women’s rights. It is written on paper and read, that’s all.
00:39:25:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
I received a phone call, I am in a hurry! Everyone is waiting for me at the Iranian consulate...
00:39:34:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (other nurse)
The head of the ward should sign here...
00:39:44:00 NARRATION by Mary
This little girl is in prison for her own safety. Why is it in this society that human beings are punished for crimes they have never committed! Every week, there are two or three cases like this.
00:40:01:14 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
Why aren’t you happy?
00:40:05:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young Iranian girl)
If you had been raped, would you be happy.
00:40:15:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
This poor girl has a bad life. She has been tortured a lot.
I don’t agree with anyone doing such a thing, it must not happen with an innocent girl.
I am very sad and I do not want this to happen to any woman or Afghan.
00:40:46:22 NARRATION by Mary
Now I know that it’s not only Afghan women that have bad fades but Iranians as well. Perhaps many countries have been affected by so many years of war and devastation in my homeland.
00:41:27:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary in car)
Right now, I am leaving the city and going to a village.
I want to know women’s conditions in this village and wether or not they are happy with their lives.
00:41:47:06 NARRATION by Mary
In Afghanistan, there are different cultural traditions, and in some part of the country there is a tradition known as “Badd”. It’s the exchange of women when there is a murder.
00:42:05:14: This area is very dangerous but I must know why women accept this tradition.
00:42:32:12 NARRATION by Mary
Finally, after two days of searching, I find a family who welcome me into their home.
00:42:52:13 NARRATION by Mary
They tell me that ten years ago two men were murdered. In compensation, this family were given three sisters from the murderers family.
00:43:11:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
If this tradition is abandoned then there will be great catastrophy between the people.
Foreigners ask what happens when people are killed, what do you do?
If we kill the murderers and they kill us, then fifty or sixty or one hundred people will die. There is a purpose behind the prevalance of this tradition, “Badd”.
00:43:41:20 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
As I told you my husband was martyred on the twenty first day of Ramadan.
My husband and his brother were both murdered.
00:43:54:16 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the head of the family)
When your sons were killed did you go and ask for the girls?
00:44:00:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
No, the tribal elders and the Mullahs, Olamas and Sayids – descendants of the prophet Mohammad – came from Pakistan.
They were brought here by the other family for negotiation.
They came in the middle of the night, we slaughtered sheep and fed 200 people.
I don’t have any power over the descendants of Mohammad, so we negotiated.
I have documents, all the documents are with me.
It was my right to take the girls because “Haad” – Sharia Law – would have been much more. Millions.
00:44:39:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
How long have you been living here?
00:44:43:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
My sister has been here for nine years and was married seven years ago.
00:44:50:24 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
I have not asked them personally if they are happy here but I asked their mother and brothers
If they are not satisfied, then they can decide.
00:45:08:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
In what way are you happy here? I am asking both of you, how are you happy?
00:45:20:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
We are happy here.
00:45:23:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
It is right that you are happy but have you ever thought that you could have been happier...
00:45:33:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
No, we are happy. There is no difference.
00:45:59:12 NARRATION by Mary
The third sister will also be given in “Badd”, and this tradition will carry on through to the younger generation.
00:46:12:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
My son is fourteen years old and the girl is eleven. In three years, we will bring her to marry my son.
The decison was made by the elders and I accepted.
00:46:30:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language)
If the girl is taken to the victim’s home, her life will not be fair. Will she be happy here?
00:46:39:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
The other two sisters are happy, so she will be happy as well.
00:46:43:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language)
If girls are given to another family in “Badd” and they are not happy, what should they do?
00:46:50:05 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
I don’t know.
00:46:54:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
In your opinion, is giving girls in “Badd” a good thing?
00:46:59:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
No, it’s good.
00:47:01:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
If “Badd” does not happen here, then people will kill each other forever.
00:47:08:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
When you were married and the hostility ended was it for your or your family’s benefit.
00:47:21:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
It was for our family’s benefit.
00:47:26:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
It didn’t have a benefit for you.
00:47:31:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
No.
00:47:46:11 NARRATION by Mary
I know that “Badd” is one of the laws in this land, but we call ourself an Islamic country then how is it possible for tradition such as this to continue to exist.
00:48:01:17 NARRATION by Mary
It seems clear to me that “Badd” is ending the life of women to rescue men.
00:48:12:08 NARRATION by Mary
I will never accept that women should be the victims of other people’s crimes. I once thought I didn’t care about the people in my country but now I care too much. I have felt the pain and seen the suffering. Sometimes I can’t think about all the stories I have heart.
00:49:07:10 NARRATION by Mary
All over my country, I have seen that women are under the control of men. It is hard to believe that this can change. I have hope for the future, but I realize that I must be patient, it will take time.
00:50:08:10 CLOSING CREDITS
Directed by:
Mary Ayubi & Polly Hyman
Produced by:
Daoud Wahab & Florent Milesi
Editors:
Isabel Tardieu &
Silje Vik Pedersen
Camera Operators
Shakiba Adil
Mary Ayubi
Parwin Ayubi
Mehria Aziz
Polly Hyman
GulMakai Rangebar
Habib Samim
Daoud Wahab
Assistant Editor:
Ramin Mustafa
Translators :
Ali Atil
Bashir Ahmad Andish
Mehria Aizizi
Bibi Moon
Mehria Walizada
Khasrow Zeer
Security Advisor:
Shafi Shafiee
“Dubara Mesazamat Watan”
Composed by:
Mohammad Nasir
Sung by:
Snawbar
(The Young Afghanistan Associtaion)
Musicians:
Del Agha
Shah Agha
Abdul Fatah
Ghulam Haider
Drives:
Askar Sarwary
Yaqoob Jan
With thanks to:
AINA Radio Department
AINA Regional Development team
The Young Afghanistan Association
Shakiba Adil
Mohammad Kabir Aimaq
Kawa Aahangar
Najiba Ayubi
John Baily
Piere Bayou
Dave Barry
Jean ‘Frog’ Biard
Brigitte Brault
Anahita Daneshiar
Nicolas Delloye
Kamran Hamidi
Carl Larsson
Silje Vik Pedersen
Rafi Rafiq
Askar ‘Jan’ Sarwary
Massoud Shams
Thierry Trelluyer
Emmanuelle Zelez
Hilary & Francesca
Nasir & Helen
Annie & Michel
With thanks to everyone who helped in the making of this film
Made with the support of:
The Finish Foreign Ministry
Of Foreign Affairs
The Goethe Institute
UNESCO
www.ainaworld.org
END : 00:51:54:05.
NB: Miss in international version “AINA presents” at 00:54:00:00 to 00:54:07:00
“AINA presents”
< Title music>
00:01:47:15
“Shadows”
00:02:12:08
NARRATION by Mary
My name is Mary and I live in Kabul. I was born during the war, and I grew up during the war. I remember the suffering of those days and I can never forget. My mother wants me to be a doctor and until recently I studied medicine for one semester at Kabul university. I was excited to study but everything changed we I failed my exams. Even though I was a good student I knew that I would never pass due to corruption in the faculty. It was very difficult to leave because I wanted to make my mother’s dream comes true. But I felt that I had no choice It was the hardest decision of my life... so far.
I am very hangry not to have been able to continue my study, but now I have made the decision to be a video journalist and I am working in Aina.
00:03:20:00
I am making a film and I want to discover my country and meet women like me who have very different destinies.
00:03:39:07 SUBTITLES, question by woman journalist
Mary, excuse me, can you tell me why you want to make this film?
00:03:44:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
-The reason why I want to make this film is because in Kabul the wommen have a good life...
- A reasonable life, no, a good life...
- I want to know what type of life the women in the provinces have.
00:04:05:12: TITLE SONG (original)
“I will rebuild you my homeland
Even with the bricks of my soul
I will be the pillar in your ceiling
Even if it takes the bone in my body
Even if it takes the bone in my body
I will rebuild you my homeland
Even with the bricks of my soul
I will be the pillar in your ceiling
Even if it takes the bone in my body
Even if it takes the bone in my body
I will give you back your strength
With the courage of your people.”
00:05:04:02 NARRATION by Mary
Kabul has become a different city, girls are going to school and women can work. Reconstruction has begun and this is the first time that I have seen women working in the streets.
00:05:20:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green)
We are happy to be working and that we are free to work. It is our livelihood.
All the workers are respectful towards the women.
Everyone that sees us, express their admiration.
Women should put their hands together, work alongside their brothers and build the country.
It is a way of making a legitimate livelihood.
00:05:46:19 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
How did you feel when you started operating the machine for the first time?
00:05:50:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green)
We felt very happy. It was difficult for us but we were eager to learn and we made an effort.
00:05:58:04 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Weren’t you scared?
00:05:59:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Women worker 1 (green):
No.
Women worker 2 (black):
We can operate both the small and big machines.
00:06:09:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Who taught you?
00:06:11:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women workers in the street)
Our teacher... There he is!
00:06:24:08 NARRATION by Mary (zoom out women workers)
There is a feeling of hope for everyone but throughout Afghanistan there are still many problems for women.
00:06:36:07
When I was thirteen years old my father was murdered, and I lost the best person in my life. He was a teacher. He used to tell me stories about the hot weather and the people in Mazar-e-Sharif. Now, I am going to this Northern city for the first time.
00:07:10:17 NARRATION by Mary (on the road)
On the way I am surrounded by the high peaks of Salang which reaches the sky. I am taken by the beauty. During the taliban time, I once drove through here to escape the war, but at that time I didn’t see it the way I am seeing it today. I feel like a child again, and as the wind sweaps through the valley, it’s so strong that I think it’s going to take me away with it.
00:07:52:14 < Mazar-e-Sharif>
00:09:09:20 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you?
00:09:16:10 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you? Will you talk to me?
00:09:19:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 1 in burqa)
No, thanks.
00:09:20:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
- Why?
(Women 1 in burqa)
- I am bying fabric!
00:09:25:23 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
How are you? Can you talk with me for a moment?
00:09:29:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 2 in burqa)
No, we don’t want to talk!
00:09:34:12 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Why don’t you want to talk?
00:09:45:18 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, uncle*. How are you? (uncle: respect title use for elder and wide people)
I have come here to speak with women but they won’t talk to me.
What do you think is the reason for that?
00:10:00:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Uncle)
The reason is people are left behind. They are illiterate. That is the reason.
Do you understand? Understand? Nothing else.
00:10:29:16 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Hello, how are you?
00:10:32:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
I am illiterate, sister.
00:10:36:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young boy in the background)
There is no freedom, women have to wear burqas!
00:10:43:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
For the sisters, for women, I mean for the people that are uneducated, they should wear a burqha.
There was nothing in Afghanistan, let alone going to school! What days they were!
00:10:55:02 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
As you and I know, thankfully, we are all Muslims.
Islam says that seeking knowledge is every man and woman’s duty.
00:11:00:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
Now, I think about my own children. We didn’t study but they should.
We weren’t educated, our future was ruined.
00:11:08:08 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Do you want them to be educated?
00:11:10:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women 3 in burqa)
Yes, yes. We are happy for our sons and daughters to be educated.
So that they can learn and know more about the world.
00:11:59:23 NARRATION by Mary
The majority of people in Afghanistan are illiterate and Mazar women are able to visit the famous shrine Zaghidjan where they learn from talking to each other.
00:12:32:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED by Mary
This the first time that I have come to this holy shrine.
I feel very happy and very lucky to be here with this many women around me.
I am very happy!
00:12:54:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women in mosque)
I came here with good faith to pray for my children so that they won’t suffer any hardships.
00:13:13:18 NARRATION by Mary
Some women come here on Wednesdays to feel closer to God. Their prays set them free. This holy shrine is the only secure meeting place for women to come to and be rescued from the darkness of their lives.
00:13:39:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Women in mosque)
My life is very difficult.
Regardless of that, my only wish is that the weapons are collected in Mazar-e-Sharif.
I want the commanders to leave and the weapons to be collected.
So that we can go somewhere and be free.
When we see armed gun men, our blood runs cold.
We are terrified.
00:14:22:12 NARRATION by Mary
As I leave Mazar I hope that in the future, the women will feel more confident to talk with me.
00:14:40:01 < Kabul >
00:14:41:18 NARRATION by Mary
Back in Kabul. I cannot forget that I left University, and I am still furious about this.
00:14:51:00 NARRATION by Mary
I know that I was not alone with my problems in the Medical Faculty and that a lot of students still have difficulties there. When I was a student I could never say what I felt because I was scared, but I hope to find a girl who has the courage to talk.
00:15:20:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED
(Girl 1 in a group at University whispering)
No, no, it’s not important...
(Mary)
No, I just...
(Girl 2 in a group at University whispering)
When the head of the faculty asks the teachers to help his daughters pass...
(Girl 3 in a group at University whispering)
Don’t worry! Another boy mentioned about Nooran’s daughter...
(Girl 1 in a group at University whispering)
You are right! And I argued with Nooran’s daughter!
00:15:44:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Girls group 2 at University)
No, no, no, I won’t talk!
00:15:49:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED by Mary
They want to talk about their problems.
But they are scared to talk on camera because it will create problems for them in the coming years.
If the authorities find out then they could be dropped from the course.
So they don’t want to talk on camera.
(Mary to the girls’ group)
You don’t want to talk? Can you cover your face and talk to me?
00:16:15:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (a girl scared at university)
You are filming the exam results? My name is there as well!
00:16:16:21 Mary answering
No, no, I’m not! Find some girls who will talk to me with their faces hidden... Come on!
< Actor’s voice >
00:16:27:19 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Would you please introduce yourself?
00:16:30:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl interviewed hidden face)
No, I don’t want to introduce myself.
They are a lot of problems in the medical faculty. Students face many problems with their studies.
They are problems with the lectures, with the teachers and their behaviour with students.
Talent is ignored here.
Only those who have money or satisfy the teachers’ requests can study here.
I have decided to leave.
00:16:259:14 SUBTITLES, question by Mary
Why do you want to leave?
00:17:01:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl interviewed hidden face)
I told you, because there are so many problems.
If you were me, would you continue your studies?
00:17:14:23 NARRATION by Mary
I left the faculty because I did not have the money for bribes. I don’t know anyone powerful and I would never let someone touch me. The day of the exams results remind me of the pressure I felt as a student.
00:17:33:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (director of the faculty)
You are behaving like hooligans!
By God, if you keep this up, then none of you third year student will pass!
Don’t come to me with your problems.
Go and make a petition with someone, over there.
What is this? What is this?
00:17:53:19 NARRATION by Mary
When the Director of the faculty, Doctor Shaghali, behave like this, it is clear to me that nothing has changed.
It is time to leave again.
00:18:22:02 NARRATION by Mary
I am in the center of Afghanistan, in the forgotten province of Khor, for three days I have been travelling by road to the town of Chaghcharan. I know nothing about this poor and remote area but I want to find out about the lifes of women in such a distant place.
00:18:40:22 < Chaghcharan >
00:19:32:21 NARRATION by Mary
In the dusty streets of Chaghcharan, I feel one hundred eyes watching me.
00:19:42:04 NARRATION by Mary
SONG SUBTITLED (singer 1)
“On the day of battle, he tooks his horse “Dildel”
My brother, even deadpeople know...
This talisman is for the evil eye, for someone’s house, children or possessions.
00:20:05:14 NARRATION by Mary
I learn that there is only one hospital and one female doctor in the entire Province and I am glad that at least there is this.
00:20:18:06 NARRATION by Mary
In this town, there is also a girl’s school, and I meet with Aziza, a student who takes me to speak with her father. When I see the maturity of her body, I know that she shouldn’t be in the seventh class. And I think if that she had been educated from a young age then she could be in University by now.
00:20:52:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
I was told that, at first, you and her brothers did not let her go to school.
Can you tell me about that?
Why didn’t you want her to go to school.
00:21:07:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (father of Aziza in Chaghcharan)
This is Chaghcharan, the environment of Chaghcharan!
In Chaghcharan, people haven’t seen these things yet.
Before our people were ashamed to send women to school.
Women did not go to school, there were only boys school.
But now, they understand that school is a good place. I told her to study, if she wants to.
It is not a problem.
It is not possible for a woman to make this choice. A woman is under the control of her husband.
If her husband lets her, then she can go to school. If not, then she can’t. She is not free to go to school.
00:22:03:05 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Aziza)
In my opinion, the Prophet says that Muslim men and women should obtain knowledge.
Women have the right to study and to defend their rights.
Why are we not studying? Why don’t we seek knowledge?
We have to do this!
00:22:29:17 NARRATION by Mary
It’s a good lesson for me and I think that if Afghanistan had not been destroyed then it would have been more developed. Now it is very late for this Country to be reformed.
00:23:04:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young boy speech)
We come to school with lots of enthusiasm. School teaches knowledge and intelligence.
00:23:11:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
Well done! Raise your hands.
Well done, my daughter!
No we know who the intelligent ones are!
00:23:23:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young girl pray)
In the name of almighty Allah, who is the most merciful and kind “Peace and Reconciliation”
Listen my dear what a nice saying this is.
A peaceful deed is better than all other deeds, my dear
Devastation, ruins and death are the results of war
Obey God’s ordain and go his way God’s mercy is upon those who seek peace
00:23:43:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
Well done! A big hand for her!
We will distribute cooking oil to the students who are present...
And precise with their attendance. Understand?
If someone is not present and they don’t get anything, then it’s not our fault!
Now, line up two by two and go to your classes.
00:24:18:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
I have about six hundred students and I went home by home to enrol them in the school.
At first their fathers didn’t let them, their brothers didn’t let them.
I went to their homes for four or five days, to persuade them to let the girls come to school.
I worked with their fathers, brothers, mothers and the girls themselves to prepare them for school.
Then their fathers and brothers gave permission.
00:25:06:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Aziza in school)
The girls who do not come to school are not allowed to by their fathers and brothers.
The people are very bad here, girls are afraid of them.
That’s why they are not interested in school.
There must be someone to liberate and encourage them to go to school.
A lot of young girls are illiterate and busy with chores at home.
00:25:38:14 NARRATION by Mary
When I was at school I was lucky to have been taught with chairs but at that time there was war. Here, they are studying on the floor without chairs and without war and for a moment I think that they are luckier than me.
00:26:17:01 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girls school teacher)
I want the parents, fathers and mothers to see how hard we are working for their daughters.
My only desire as a mother and older sister is for them to let their daughters come to school.
Let them enrol in school, let them be educated and learn something.
Then they can educate their own children, the future generation.
00:27:05:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
Go away.
Can’t you see the well?
They are coming toward the well.
00:27:13:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old man in girls school)
So what? They are human beings, don’t do that.
00:27:16:20 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
No, I am not beating them.
00:27:20:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old man in girls school)
What will these foreigners think? This is very bad.
00:27:25:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (old woman with stick)
Go away, girls, go away!
00:27:33:17 NARRATION by Mary
School was very important to me, and they were the happiest days of my life. During the fighting it felt like a safe place to be. It gives me hope to find girls being educated in such a remote part of the country.
00:27:56:00 NARRATION by Mary
On the way back home I think about the future I could have had, there are so many questions that I need answers to.
00:28:14:03 < Kabul >
00:28:32:05 NARRATION by Mary
Now, I have the courage to talk to someone powerful about my problems. I am going to meet Doctor Sherif Faes the Minister of Higher Education. I want him to know about the difficulties I faced and the hardships that remain for the students on the course and I am hoping that he will do something about that.
00:29:15:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary whispering)
Hello, how are you?
00:29:17:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Hello, how are you? Please sit down.
00:29:15:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
I witnessed a students’ demonstration in the medical faculty.
The students were complaining about the regulations that should be observed but are not.
I can tell you that there are definitely some students who are the daughters of professors
Or who have powerful connections who do not observe the regulations.
But other students must observe the regulations . Are you aware of this or not?
00:29:53:09 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Look, our purpose is to reform the medical faculty.
These reforms are with the students and also the administration and teachers in the faculty.
I am completely aware of everything!
The medical faculty is disorganized and some teachers were recruited by orders.
I am completely aware of this and we are investigating it.
00:30:20:01 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Something else, sir, is that teachers who are recruited by orders...
00:30:27:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
They were recruited...
00:30:28:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Yes, they were recruited...
00:30:29:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
They are not coming any more.
00:30:33:21 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Okay, they have some illigitimate requests from the girls and they request money from the boys.
What do you know about this and what have you done about it?
00:30:48:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
We are always looking for evidence. In these cases we are looking for witnesses.
If a student came to us with a document and told us that this teacher has illigitimate requests,
Which are against the regulations, then we would investigate it.
But the students have never brought us such documents.
00:31:16:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
But when I spoke to them, they told me...
00:31:20:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Look, there are some teachers who are not respecting the ministry’s regulations.
They are being investigated.
Inspectors are working in all the provinces which have medical faculties in Afghanistan.
00:31:41:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
On that day, most of the students were telling me that nobody listens to their complaints.
When they complain to Dr Cheragh Ali, who is the head of the medical faculty, he does not care.
On the same day, when I wanted to interview some of the students,
Dr Cheragh Ali attacked the cameraman who was with me.
I have footage of this and I want to show it to you now.
Medical students have a lot of complaints about the administration of the faculty.
Now, I want to show you the footage.
00:32:31:23 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know it.
00:32:41:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know about this.
00:32:44:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
I think if you see it, then you will know that even freedom of the press is not allowed.
00:32:56:07 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
I know everything about the difficulties in the medical faculty.
Students have been to my office several times.
I can tell you that the medical faculty is the biggest problem for the ministry of higher education.
00:33:15:16 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
Do you have any more questions?
00:33:21:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
When this sister left the medical faculty, it was the best choice.
00:33:29:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary)
Thank you, sir.
00:33:32:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Minister)
If you were my daughter, I would have told you to leave.
00:33:44:01 NARRATION by Mary
I feel that he has understood me, and I am pleased. I needed to hear that I was right to leave the medical faculty. I know now that I will never go back to Kabul University but I am frustrated about the corruption that remains there.
00:34:24:23 NARRATION by Mary
I am stronger and more confident than ever before.
00:34:33:13 < Kandahar>
00:34:53:16 NARRATION by Mary
I have always been afraid of Kandahar in the South of the country, it’s a city that has been the heart of political changes. For hundreds of years, it has decided the faith of this troubled land. Most recently, it was the former strong hold of the Taliban regime. I am scared to be here and it’s the first time that I have felt that I hate somewhere in my country. The faces on the street remind me of the taliban and the days I was beaten for no reason. For a minute, all of my dark memories return. But this time I am ready and I think that even if I die I must stand up to my fears.
00:35:46:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
Are you going to sit here with me?
When Afghanistan was liberated, I was the first woman to go to the police to apply for a job. I told them that I wanted to work to serve my country.
Our country is devastated and we should rebuild it together with our brothers.
I submitted my job application and I have been working ever since the liberation of my country.
00:36:22:11 NARRATION by Mary
Malalai is the only police woman in Kandahar.
She takes me to Mirwais Public Hospital.
00:36:41:16 NARRATION by Mary
She is here to help a young girl that was kidnapped three year ago and raped.
00:36:50:24 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
Someone has kidnapped this girl from Iran.
She escaped from his home and informed the police and we brought her to the hospital... she is sick.
We have brought her because she is a lady to be examined accordingto the legal process.
We need to know if she has been harmed by the criminal.
She knows her mother and father’s names and the name of the place she is from, nothing else. Someone from the Iranian Embassy should take photos of her to be published in Iran.
We will do the examination.
The criminal is in custody. We will take them to court and they will decide what happens.
My duty is to investigate, take her for examination and to look after her.
Then the court decides about her.
00:37:58:20 NARRATION by Mary
I see the pain on her face and the shame in her eyes and the sadness is too much. She is just thirteen years old. I hate myself for being a girl when she is a woman.
00:38:15:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
Did you work during the Taliban time?
00:38:17:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
Yes, I did.
00:38:19:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
How do you compare the present cases to that of the Taliban time? Are there less or more cases now?
00:38:24:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
No, there are more now. There are more cases now than during the Taliban regime.
There used to be one case every two or three months.
In the last eighteen months, there have been a lot more cases.
00:38:38:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
You mean, the situation for women is getting worse?
00:38:44:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (nurse in Kandahar hospital)
Yes, it’s getting worse.
In the Islamic soiety of Afghanistan, especially in the present situation in Kandahar,
These things effect our spirits very badly.
These things have to be stopped, a woman must not be sexually assaulted.
We have a lot of events like this.
There is no such things as women’s rights. It is written on paper and read, that’s all.
00:39:25:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
I received a phone call, I am in a hurry! Everyone is waiting for me at the Iranian consulate...
00:39:34:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (other nurse)
The head of the ward should sign here...
00:39:44:00 NARRATION by Mary
This little girl is in prison for her own safety. Why is it in this society that human beings are punished for crimes they have never committed! Every week, there are two or three cases like this.
00:40:01:14 SPEECH SUBTITLED (question by Mary)
Why aren’t you happy?
00:40:05:11 SPEECH SUBTITLED (young Iranian girl)
If you had been raped, would you be happy.
00:40:15:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Malalai, police woman)
This poor girl has a bad life. She has been tortured a lot.
I don’t agree with anyone doing such a thing, it must not happen with an innocent girl.
I am very sad and I do not want this to happen to any woman or Afghan.
00:40:46:22 NARRATION by Mary
Now I know that it’s not only Afghan women that have bad fades but Iranians as well. Perhaps many countries have been affected by so many years of war and devastation in my homeland.
00:41:27:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Mary in car)
Right now, I am leaving the city and going to a village.
I want to know women’s conditions in this village and wether or not they are happy with their lives.
00:41:47:06 NARRATION by Mary
In Afghanistan, there are different cultural traditions, and in some part of the country there is a tradition known as “Badd”. It’s the exchange of women when there is a murder.
00:42:05:14: This area is very dangerous but I must know why women accept this tradition.
00:42:32:12 NARRATION by Mary
Finally, after two days of searching, I find a family who welcome me into their home.
00:42:52:13 NARRATION by Mary
They tell me that ten years ago two men were murdered. In compensation, this family were given three sisters from the murderers family.
00:43:11:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
If this tradition is abandoned then there will be great catastrophy between the people.
Foreigners ask what happens when people are killed, what do you do?
If we kill the murderers and they kill us, then fifty or sixty or one hundred people will die. There is a purpose behind the prevalance of this tradition, “Badd”.
00:43:41:20 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
As I told you my husband was martyred on the twenty first day of Ramadan.
My husband and his brother were both murdered.
00:43:54:16 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the head of the family)
When your sons were killed did you go and ask for the girls?
00:44:00:19 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
No, the tribal elders and the Mullahs, Olamas and Sayids – descendants of the prophet Mohammad – came from Pakistan.
They were brought here by the other family for negotiation.
They came in the middle of the night, we slaughtered sheep and fed 200 people.
I don’t have any power over the descendants of Mohammad, so we negotiated.
I have documents, all the documents are with me.
It was my right to take the girls because “Haad” – Sharia Law – would have been much more. Millions.
00:44:39:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
How long have you been living here?
00:44:43:03 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
My sister has been here for nine years and was married seven years ago.
00:44:50:24 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Old man, head of family)
I have not asked them personally if they are happy here but I asked their mother and brothers
If they are not satisfied, then they can decide.
00:45:08:12 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
In what way are you happy here? I am asking both of you, how are you happy?
00:45:20:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
We are happy here.
00:45:23:18 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
It is right that you are happy but have you ever thought that you could have been happier...
00:45:33:04 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
No, we are happy. There is no difference.
00:45:59:12 NARRATION by Mary
The third sister will also be given in “Badd”, and this tradition will carry on through to the younger generation.
00:46:12:15 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
My son is fourteen years old and the girl is eleven. In three years, we will bring her to marry my son.
The decison was made by the elders and I accepted.
00:46:30:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language)
If the girl is taken to the victim’s home, her life will not be fair. Will she be happy here?
00:46:39:10 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
The other two sisters are happy, so she will be happy as well.
00:46:43:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language)
If girls are given to another family in “Badd” and they are not happy, what should they do?
00:46:50:05 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Widow of the house)
I don’t know.
00:46:54:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
In your opinion, is giving girls in “Badd” a good thing?
00:46:59:00 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
No, it’s good.
00:47:01:06 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in blue answers)
If “Badd” does not happen here, then people will kill each other forever.
00:47:08:08 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
When you were married and the hostility ended was it for your or your family’s benefit.
00:47:21:17 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
It was for our family’s benefit.
00:47:26:13 SPEECH SUBTITLED (Question by woman interpreter, Pashto language, to the girls)
It didn’t have a benefit for you.
00:47:31:02 SPEECH SUBTITLED (girl in beige answers)
No.
00:47:46:11 NARRATION by Mary
I know that “Badd” is one of the laws in this land, but we call ourself an Islamic country then how is it possible for tradition such as this to continue to exist.
00:48:01:17 NARRATION by Mary
It seems clear to me that “Badd” is ending the life of women to rescue men.
00:48:12:08 NARRATION by Mary
I will never accept that women should be the victims of other people’s crimes. I once thought I didn’t care about the people in my country but now I care too much. I have felt the pain and seen the suffering. Sometimes I can’t think about all the stories I have heart.
00:49:07:10 NARRATION by Mary
All over my country, I have seen that women are under the control of men. It is hard to believe that this can change. I have hope for the future, but I realize that I must be patient, it will take time.
00:50:08:10 CLOSING CREDITS
Directed by:
Mary Ayubi & Polly Hyman
Produced by:
Daoud Wahab & Florent Milesi
Editors:
Isabel Tardieu &
Silje Vik Pedersen
Camera Operators
Shakiba Adil
Mary Ayubi
Parwin Ayubi
Mehria Aziz
Polly Hyman
GulMakai Rangebar
Habib Samim
Daoud Wahab
Assistant Editor:
Ramin Mustafa
Translators :
Ali Atil
Bashir Ahmad Andish
Mehria Aizizi
Bibi Moon
Mehria Walizada
Khasrow Zeer
Security Advisor:
Shafi Shafiee
“Dubara Mesazamat Watan”
Composed by:
Mohammad Nasir
Sung by:
Snawbar
(The Young Afghanistan Associtaion)
Musicians:
Del Agha
Shah Agha
Abdul Fatah
Ghulam Haider
Drives:
Askar Sarwary
Yaqoob Jan
With thanks to:
AINA Radio Department
AINA Regional Development team
The Young Afghanistan Association
Shakiba Adil
Mohammad Kabir Aimaq
Kawa Aahangar
Najiba Ayubi
John Baily
Piere Bayou
Dave Barry
Jean ‘Frog’ Biard
Brigitte Brault
Anahita Daneshiar
Nicolas Delloye
Kamran Hamidi
Carl Larsson
Silje Vik Pedersen
Rafi Rafiq
Askar ‘Jan’ Sarwary
Massoud Shams
Thierry Trelluyer
Emmanuelle Zelez
Hilary & Francesca
Nasir & Helen
Annie & Michel
With thanks to everyone who helped in the making of this film
Made with the support of:
The Finish Foreign Ministry
Of Foreign Affairs
The Goethe Institute
UNESCO
www.ainaworld.org
END : 00:51:54:05.
NB: Miss in international version “AINA presents” at 00:54:00:00 to 00:54:07:00