Travel Afghanistan alongside local Afghan women. In this episode, we visit various educational initiatives as well as some of Bamiyan's outskirts and beautiful nature (Dragon Valley and City of Zohak) and, the famous Band-e-Amir blue lakes.
Episode 1 - The Real Afghanistan, Kabul (Meet Somaya & Marium) | The Secret Lives of Afghan Women (1) https://youtu.be/3MYvyogVQWY
Episode 3 - The Real Afghanistan | Buddhas of Bamiyan (Meet Zahra) | The Secret Lives of Afghan Women https://youtu.be/1r_wZiy6IRY
[Thumbnail photo by @travellestan] ------
I've spent several months in Afghanistan, and in this series, I want to take you on a trip around Afghanistan's main provinces and cities, all in the company of local Afghan women tour guides, and spending time visiting various women-focused initiatives as we go. Supporting where we can.
The lives and experiences of Afghan women in Afghanistan today are nuanced, complex. The women we see here in this documentary are the ones who managed to make their own way in a society structured against them; who have their family and friends supporting them in the background. The ones who do not want to be shown on camera are perhaps ones that struggle more and - this doesn't even touch on the ones we didn't see throughout the production of this documentary because they're not permitted to leave their homes.
It is a sad truth that their voices, at least for now, will not be heard.
Nevertheless, there is a portion of the population that has until now been largely forgotten about by mainstream media. The ones who want their story told; their faces shown.
Over this multi-part series, I travel to; Kabul Mazar Bamiyan (& Band-e-amir) Kandahar Herat
On our way, we meet women from the local craft market, have an embroidery class, visit a local women's retreat center, have a traditional cooking class, visit several schools and academies, visit a shipping factory run by a woman shipping clothes all over the world, spend an afternoon at an orphanage, visit a women-run art gallery, and dine at women-run restaurants.
Travel to Afghanistan may be ethically complex, but I believe it can be done ethically. And by supporting local businesses and initiatives, it's one step towards doing your part.
NOTE: Every woman in this mini documentary has agreed to be on camera and, indeed, are happy to finally be given a platform to share their voices. There are various places visited that are not represented in this series, either for the preference of the individual or organisation or for their respect and safety.
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Travelling as a Woman in Afghanistan
One of my favourite things about travelling with women in Afghanistan is that there are so many things you can experience BECAUSE you’re a woman. Not in spite of the fact.
Things that as a man would not be accessible.
In a world dominated by men, you’re invited into the loud and colourful world of women. And the women’s-only spaces in Afghanistan are some of the loudest.
That world, although on the outside much quieter, softer, much more demure... has a whole lot inside waiting for you to experience. A world full of emotions: Laughter, joy, smiles, and pain.
A world much louder than the world of men could ever be.
Women just don’t need to shout about it, is all.
What goes on behind closed doors in the world of women in Afghanistan, I can’t go into too much detail.
There are men reading this, after all.
And as sacred spaces for women, I’ll keep it as that.
But one thing I can say is that women may be silenced, they may be oppressed, but they do not let themselves live in silence. They do not let themselves live only in oppression.
If you want to support any of the organisations featured in this series, please contact me on Instagram - @zoediscovers
(Here you will also find photos & BTS of production)
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This trip was made possible with the collaboration of Koryo Tours, Somaya Moniry, Afghan Sisters Travel, and Masood Shnizai and his team at Afghania Travel.
Thank you to my Patrons who make long-form content like this not supported by ads or brand deals, etc possible. Without the support, I truly couldn't do it.
“No one who has spent time in Afghanistan has left unimpressed by its people’s hospitality, dignity, and firm sense of cultural identity.” TJB, February 2022, Cambridge, MA
Last week, we headed into Bameyan,
visiting sites like the ancient Buddhas
and where we will be staying for the
next couple of episodes, exploring more
local nature and schools.
We left off last week right at Dragon
Valley, an incredible rock formation
located just outside Balian City Center,
[Music]
the shape of a dragon. Uh here is the
tape and that side you can see one horn
and also
white color. Here is the spring the
local splits that is the ice and the
water is
it stairs. That's completely interesting
and wonderful. Unbelievable actually
[Music]
how it is like possible that scientists
believe this is shaped because of
volcano or air quality
or
this one change
>> maybe a dinosaur. Yes, the shape.
Nothing or his dragon.
>> The water is so salty.
>> I am no geologist, so Dragon Valley
continues to baffle me. It's located
around 3 to 4,000 m above sea level. And
yet, a stream of salt water is pumped
out of the dragon's eyes in a constant
flow, and you can even find bits of
coral down the cracks on the side. It's
a brilliant place to visit in Bameyan as
you get really incredible views and it's
a nice place to hang out with the locals
as there's often families and children
here. The water here isn't too salty.
You can still drink it and indeed the
villages often come here to fill up
their water bottles.
>> Oh, look at the little one.
[Music]
Just at the bottom of Dragon Valley is
this school in Bameyian called the
Educational Center of the Ads Youth
Council. This educational center was
built on land donated by the local
people with the support of the UNHCR and
is dedicated solely to the development
of youth and teenagers. It has around
400 students and all the teachers work
as volunteers teaching computer science,
English and maths. Actually the place is
from the people and made by the help of
the UNR UNCR organization and those
classes all of them are run by the
people of this uh village.
We have classes and English classes for
each other. Yes. So let's go and check.
>> There are nine teachers. one teacher
that teaches just computer science and
the other teachers teaching a mixture of
maths and English. We met with the
headmaster of the school to have a bit
of an introduction before going to
interrupt some of the classes.
As always with these visits, respecting
the privacy of the organizations is very
important and everything shown here is
done under the explicit permission of
the school.
[Music]
Does do they have to pay or does the
government?
>> No, this is all this um actually this
place run by the locals, the teachers,
the students. Yeah, this they have came
here to learn they at least they pay
like a least amount for the car. Just
two months ago we had some problems but
still we are working we are doing our
job.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah. Because we saying we're doing for
free in here and we just want to helping
and whatever we have learned we want to
teach others.
>> So were they okay with the handy thing?
Yeah.
>> Yeah. So did did they close the place
down for a few days or
>> um just uh six year six months ago?
>> Yeah.
>> Once they have closed but again there
were the people were really keen to
study in this village the economy of the
people are not good
>> but they love studying. They're trying
like to choose any way that possible to
learn. So uh that is why all the girls
all the teachers are in here they are
just working as volunteer
and all just they are helping their
sisters and brothers in this village to
build the capacities.
>> Okay.
>> And it's only girls they can come here
>> in the early morning we have um small
boys too. No.
>> Yes.
>> How old?
>> Uh
six up to 9 or 12 years old. The boys.
Yeah.
>> Do they just come for one shift in the
morning?
>> Yes.
>> Every day?
>> Yes. Every day?
>> Five days or six days?
>> Six days. Saturday up to Tuesday.
>> Okay.
>> And the same for the
>> Thursday.
>> Same for the computer class of English
class.
>> Yes.
>> Yeah. Exactly. You and I'm so happy.
Nice to meet you. And we uh we know we
always students want to say a warm
welcome for you and uh that's a big
pleasure for us to see different people
from different countries and just I want
to say that to welcome to Bomb and
welcome to Afghanistan and welcome to
our girls.
>> Thank you. Thank you so much.
>> Thank you.
Each year on the immigration day we'll
have a competition
and for the drawing we ask them to do
it.
>> There are just some of them but still we
have many other drawings to paintings.
>> One 2 3
>> Hi.
>> Hi
>> Scott. How are you? How are you?
>> I'm okay.
>> I'm okay.
>> Thanks.
>> Thanks.
>> How about you?
>> How about you?
>> Okay. Uh, pretty good.
>> Pretty good.
>> Excellent.
>> Hey, listen and say.
>> Hi, it's good. How are you?
>> I'm okay, thanks. How about you?
>> Pretty good.
>> Goodbye is good. See you later.
>> Finish.
>> Good. Goodbye.
See you.
>> See you later.
[Applause]
>> Allah,
how are you?
>> I'm okay, thanks. How about to you?
>> Good.
>> Pretty good.
>> Pretty good.
>> Pretty good.
>> See you later.
chest
[Music]
to
>> the name of our house.
Lesson five
points true to
things
I
>> Excellent.
>> Excellent.
The school often struggles to support
its teachers and students as it no
longer receives any outside funding. The
staff are all so hardworking and without
them, the students here wouldn't be able
to receive any education. If you wish to
make any donations to the school, please
do get in touch. I'm happy to send any
details on or help you deliver supplies
on my next visit.
Nearby, we visited a couple of other
schools who preferred not to be filmed.
And here we found out that there was a
nearby carpet weavers workshop run by
women where they were happy for us to go
and take a look.
>> So these are
>> So she's going to weave and you can see
how does she do that.
[Music]
For the rest of the day, we spent it out
of the city and into the balian valley
of the city of Zohak, also known as
Shara Zohak or the red city. I think
it's pretty clear why
the city's mud brick and baked clay
fortifications glow red in the sunlight,
giving it its name.
Its origins date back all the way to the
sixth century and it once served as a
major defensive outpost protecting the
Bian Valley with its strategic position
overseeing the ancient silk road roots
that connected central and south Asia.
Its multiple layers of walls, towers,
and gates reveal an advanced
understanding of fortification design
and urban planning for its time. And
although the city now lies in ruins, you
can still explore this incredible
historical site with enough to walk
around for the whole day.
[Music]
You can trace the outlines of ancient
palaces, citadel walls, and garrison
quarters, all set against the dramatic
backdrop of the Bian cliffs. According
to legend, it was named after Zohak, the
mythical serpent king from Persian
mythology, who symbolized tyranny and
destruction. Just like the city of
screams we saw in the earlier episode,
the Mongol invasion of 2021 under
Genghaskhan brought this once thriving
citadel to an end.
>> What's happening, guys?
We're just chilling. Don't record and
then zoom in what we are saying.
[Music]
Welcome to
[Music]
>> No trip to Bamian is complete without
visiting the beautiful Bandandy Amamir
lakes located around 2 to three hours
outside Bameyian city center deep within
the mountains and famous for being
Afghanistan's first national park. Now a
bit of a caveat here. Since the Taliban
came to power, they ruled that women are
not permitted into public parks. This
rule has recently become a lot more
strict and extends also to foreign
visitors. So, how did we enter? You
might wonder.
Well, let me just say that as with a lot
of things in Afghanistan, a lot of it is
down to nuance and divided opinions mean
that sometimes rules can be a bit lax.
Plus, if you do your research, you'll
come to find that there's a certain time
to enter this place that gives you more
chance of being able to enter.
>> Oh, lovely. Nevertheless, anytime before
I try to enter Bandandy, I never know if
it will be possible or not. Sometimes
it's very simple and you see a lot of
local women there, too. Sometimes it
doesn't quite go your way, which does
end up happening to us, but more on that
later.
Bandameir is a series of natural lakes
located within Bamian Province. It lies
approximately 75 km west of the Bamian
Valley and sits at an altitude of around
3,000 meters above sea level. The lakes
are surrounded by rugged limestone
cliffs which divide the lakes into a
chain with each basin maintaining its
own water level, color and ecosystem.
The six main lakes are Bandai Holaman,
Bandai Kambar, Bandai Hibat, Bandai
Panea, Bandai Pudina and Bandai Zulfika.
The largest and most visited of these is
Bandai Hibat meaning lake of ore which
measures about 6.5 km in length and 1.5
km in width.
Bandandy Amir holds cultural and
religious significance as well. Local
traditions link its creation to Hazarat
Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the
prophet Muhammad who is believed to have
performed miracles in the area. Pilgrims
visit the site for religious purposes,
especially around Bandai Hibat, where a
small shrine dedicated to Ali stands.
So why the name Bandandy Amir you might
ask? Well, according to local tradition,
the Amy in question does refer to this
Hazrat Ali.
In 2009, it was designated as the
country's first national park and the
area provides habitat for a range of
wildlife including ibecks, wild sheep,
and various birds. Though much of the
surrounding environment has been
affected by overg grazing and past
conflicts.
The drive to the park is incredibly
beautiful with lots of points to take
photos along the way of the different
lakes as well as the main lake. I
definitely recommend to stop here for
some photos before you head into the
main area.
Whilst taking some photos here, we ran
into a local and borrowed his horse for
a short while.
[Music]
Is Impressive.
>> Really?
>> The entrance to the lake itself is a
short drive down and then about a 10 to
15 minute walk. There are plenty of
places to set up camp, have breakfast or
lunch, some tea of course, and relax
with friends or family. You can even
camp here in the summer months. And
remember, it's an entire national park,
not just the lakes. There are
waterfalls, viewpoints, and even a
mosque.
On weekends and during public holidays,
you'll find it incredibly busy early in
the mornings and during the week less.
So, you can rent out the boats to go on
the lake for an hour and make sure they
don't try to rip you off just because
you're a foreigner.
The main lake is massive and paddling
can be pretty exhausting, especially in
the higher altitudes if you're not used
to it. So, make sure to bring some water
with you. The color of the lake is just
incredible. And it goes without saying
that video just does not do it justice.
[Music]
Unfortunately, on my most recent trip
with the ladies, we got into the
national park with no issue. But just as
we were about to head out to the lakes
to go boating, we were actually kicked
out. This had never happened to me
before, and usually if there's any
trouble, it starts before you even get
in. Nevertheless, as I mentioned before,
there's not just one lake, and well,
there's no harm in trying again. What's
that old saying? If at first you don't
succeed, well,
[Music]
here. More comfortable, more calm.
[Music]
[Music]
Look at the colors of the water. That's
crazy.
My god.
How's the water? Cold.
>> Don't fall in.
That's
the temperature.
>> For swimming.
>> Not not for swimming. It's cold for
swimming.
>> And unfortunately, that is all we have
time for this week.
We're not leaving Bamean just yet
though. But it is time to leave these
beautiful blue lakes as next week we'll
be spending the day at a women's center
where we'll be learning how to
embroider. Well, at least trying to
getting some henna done and trying our
hand at cooking local Afghan food before
we make our way to the highly
conservative Kandahar province. See you
next week.
[Music]
