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Tigerlily

http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/afghanwomen/index.html

Amazing photographs of women in Kabul after the Taliban left - taken by a TIME photographer.

Reading The Kite Runner has really opened my eyes to Afghanistan, its people, history etc. It made me realise how much I don't actually know. It's made me more sensitive to their plight.

In that respect, it's a great book and one people should read.

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Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

sparkymarky · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:39 pm Post subject:

thank you for those Glynnis-many of the photos are very moving and show the real picture behind the story-i cannot imagine going for years without seeing the female form around me.it sounds such a silly thing but i guess we take these things for granted and it must dehumanise women in the eyes of men as they cannot recognize the women as equals if they are completely covered.

to think even though it is no longere law,these women have been psychologically conditioned into thinking they must remain hidden.

it will be many years before the benefits are able to be seen but it makes you understand a little better the justification for a war,such as the one in Iraq,which i have always been against.If it can make peoples lives a little better then surely that is justification enough-whether or not the western presence there is doing that is another matter entirely-but one thing these pictures do convey to me is hope.

that maybe in time others can share the freedom and independance that we in this hempisphere so often take for granted.

lovely treez · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:28 pm Post subject:

Thank you Glynis - I've started to read more books on this subject The Kite Runner, My Forbidden Face - Latifah and about women in Iran - Reading Lolita in Tehran. Everyone should make themselves more aware of what's going on in the world.

Saw this article about the young boys who are acting in the movie of The Kite Runner - you might find it interesting - it wasn't exactly the life enhancing experience they had hoped for.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2546079.html
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Currently reading - The Italian Boy - Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London - Sarah Wise

Tigerlily · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 3:17 pm Post subject:

Thanks for that link Treez - I'd wondered if there'd be a film made about The Kite Runner. We'll need to add a film review forum to BB with all the books being made into film!

I really feel for those boys who are acting in TKR. It does make you realise just how much we take freedom of expression for granted.

And Sparky, it's amazing that women are still wearing the Burkhas. I studied the history of costume at uni and in times of war women wear clothes that make them feel secure. Like women throughout history in the west have worn corsets to provide a feeling of security during times of war, so women in Afghanistan are wearing clothes to totally strip them of their ID, and their form and to act as a barrier to protect them from their hostile environment - these are purely guesses, I don't know enough about this type of covering - were they made to wear them under the Taliban's rule?
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Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

sparkymarky · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:12 pm Post subject:

sounds like hollywood well ripped those poor families off-what a horrible story.

i think the women were made to wear burkhas Glynnis-one of the reasons i think they may still wear them is that they fear another change in the balance may leave them xactly where they started from politically and like you say it is a form of security for them-alienating them and making them feel more anonymous.

it is a shocking world we live in and we should always remember those less fortunate than us and do for them all we can-not like paramount the complete wa*****S!!

Tigerlily · Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:10 pm Post subject:

I couldn't help but think that Hosseini & the directors will be ok rolling in money in the safety of their American homes while those poor boys will have to tough it out in their war-torn homes after filming has finished, & not with the money they deserve either.

That's how the article made me feel.

It's not fair to judge Hosseini - I hope he's using his fame to help the cause. I read that he's returning to Afghanistan and many a film crew are offering to accompany him. It would make fascinating viewing.
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Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

sirg1006 · Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:54 am Post subject:

It's very easy to create images in your head when reading books but to actually see pictures makes it more real. Kind of different to what I'd imagined.

Looking forward to the film but that artical is just shocking... I realise the worry and fear of kidnap but fom reading the book, these boys are the central characters and you imagine there are Hollywood stars being paid millions for their roles. And it's a shame the Hazaras also have to feel that way when it was Hassan that served faithfully and took everything that was thrown at him - even by Amir.

D

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I'm an auntie! Kelvin

miranda · Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:21 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the picture SB, really helps you realise that The Kite Runner is not just a brilliant work of fiction, but a representation of what is happening in our time on our planet.

If anyone has, or knows, any teenagers they think would like to read about this subject, I would recommend 'The Breadwinner' 'Parvana's Journey' and 'Mud City' all by Deborah Ellis. These books focus on the lives of two teenage girls growing up in Afghanistan when the Taliban arrive. They are quite graphic and can be disturbing, but I think it is worthwhile for our teenagers to know what is going on in the world.
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Currently reading: The Human Stain by Philip Roth
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.'

Tigerlily · Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:31 pm Post subject:

Thanks for those recommendations Miranda - I'll put them in the bookstore

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Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

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