“Never Plead Ignorance Again”

Afghanistan remains to be a nation misunderstood. Few people know the reality of life. Afghanistan Unveiled presents Afghanistan in a fascinating way. During the reign of the Taliban, women were confined to their homes, ignorant of what was going on in their surroundings, with no televisions or radio stations to explain the happenings they saw outside their very windows. The film, for me was a journey, as it was for the Afghan journalists directing and producing it. They, themselves, had never left Kabul, and were practically light years away from the nightmares facing millions in their nation.

“We can never plead ignorance again.” That was the line that immediately stuck in my mind. The journalists showed great initiative to discover their nation, and unveil its history for themselves. They visited the poorest villages and areas of Afghanistan, particularly focusing on the Hazaras. The word Hazaras quickly reminded me of the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, in which he conveys the discrimination towards the Hazara and the impact of Taliban rule on Afghan society. Similarly in the documentary, Hazaras were ethnically cleansed out of major Afghan cities. Thousands were killed and those who survived created homes for themselves in mountains, with one goal: sustaining life. The filmmakers’ journey through the mountains and the desert showed the absence of infrastructure. Hazaras truly lived in the middle of nowhere. Interviewees described the Taliban as a plague and extermination force. As women described the events they stored in their memories, the journalists were brought to tears. The Hazaras’ stories were a black mark in Afghan history, a criminal case never opened, and hidden from not only the international community and Afghans alike.

While visiting other villages, I could somewhat relate to the journalists as they depicted the injustice that women had to endure due to a misinterpretation and extremist view of Islamic Shari’a Law. As a Muslim myself, I related to the journalists who practiced Islam in moderation, sticking to its key principles and morals. In villages they visited on the Eastern part of Afghanistan, there were no women in sight. Education was reserved for the men, if it was even available in the first place. Pure misery could be detected instantly. When finally gaining permission to get interviews with women, the journalists witnessed, for the first time, conditions that had to be endured by women. Women were forced to wear Chadris to hide their identity wholly, and due to societal pressure and fear live in isolation in their homes with no opportunities of progress or change. As for the millions of Nomads displaced due to many years of conflict, deserted villages or areas in the desert became home. Most of the women were widowed due to Taliban rule, and left to fend for themselves without oil, water, or electricity. There was no income, no routine, and a complete absence of basic human rights and necessities.

The Afghan journalists realized the opportunity they had, and used it not only to escape their own shell of ignorance, but to raise the voice of the silenced majority of Afghanistan, in hopes of one day helping the women of their nation realize equality, freedom, and justice. Despite the horrific misery depicted, Afghan culture was highlighted to symbolize this potential for change that many, even Afghans, label as impossible to attain.