Afghan Women’s Writing Project
After decades of war and occupation, Afghanistan continues to face tremendous challenges. With the return of the Taliban in 2021, daily conditions for women and girls have deteriorated considerably. Rates of gender-based violence are high; the Taliban persists in its attempts to assert control; and the legacy of the ongoing conflict has left nearly 80% of women unable to read and write.
Between 2009-2017, during a period of relative openness in the country, the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP) helped hundreds of Afghan women craft essays and poems and share them with the world. These writings enabled thousands of readers each month to hear directly from Afghan women on issues of personal, cultural, and political significance.
In the winter and spring of 2016, Silence Speaks collaborated with AWWP on a unique digital storytelling workshop that was conducted entirely via pre-recorded webinar sessions, individual and group Skype calls, and email exchanges. AWWP staff in Afghanistan recruited a small group of bilingual (Dari-English speaking) alumni of their programs, and Silence Speaks provided instruction on writing personal narrative for video, the ethics of photography and videography, and simple tips for developing visual treatments. The participants wrote short scripts, with our input and guidance; gathered and took photos and video clips to illustrate their work (those who were not able to create original visual material received assistance with illustration and videography); and uploaded these materials to us via DropBox. Given limited personal access to video editing equipment and software in Afghanistan, the final stories were edited in California. In order to protect the safety and anonymity of the participants, all identifying information has been kept confidential. “Pen” names were used, faces were blurred in photographs, and activist Noorjahan Akbar recorded the stories (in Dari with English subtitles). View selected stories below and find more on our YouTube channel.
