Afghanistan : In the shadow of the white flags

Recipient of a 2024 Françoise Demulder Grant

In the shadow of the white flags: Afghanistan 2021-2025 For four years, the Taliban have been back in power in Afghanistan. After twenty years of democracy and relative openness to the world, this is a real step backwards for the urban population. Women are kept indoors, deprived of secondary education and excluded from most places of work and socialization. Between resignation and resistance, hope and despair, they try to wrest a few moments of freedom, defying Taliban law.

With support for documentary photography from the Centre national des arts plastiques, and support from La Scam’s “Brouillon d’un rêve” and from “La Culture avec la Copie Privée”.

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Sonia Niazaï, a presenter at the private television station Tolo News, adjusts her veil between two news programs. Women are now obliged to cover their faces when they go out, and when they appear on screen. The government has ordered men to enforce this rule within their households or face sanctions. Kabul, May 26, 2022.

17-year-old Fahima revises in the family living room. She is taking an online course that she can access via her smartphone. Kabul, January 24, 2025.

A traditional restaurant in the Shahr-e Naw district in the center of Kabul. Women are not allowed to sit in the main room. Men can only bring daughters who have not yet reached puberty. Kabul, April 12, 2025.

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