New Ipswich exhibition giving Afghan women and girls a voice

An exhibition called "Window to the Soul of Afghanistan" has opened at the Jerwood DanceHouse in Ipswich and will run for four weeks. The exhibition aims to raise awareness of the plight of Afghan women by telling their life stories under Taliban rule.

Over the past year, the project team has been dedicated to establishing a safe platform for women in Afghanistan, as well as those who have left, to share their stories of life before and after the Taliban's rule. These stories truthfully reflect the challenges and difficulties faced by Afghan women.

Najina, 17, who fled Afghanistan to the UK three years ago, also participated in the project and expressed her longing for her homeland. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 and have imposed strict and oppressive laws on women and girls under their rule.

Najina recalls that she and her family fled the day the Taliban took over Afghanistan, which was a "very bad day" for her. She still has family there and has learned that her female relatives over the age of 12 are unable to attend school due to the Taliban's ban. She emphasized the importance of education, stating that it is "not just something that boys and men can do."

Najina, who currently resides in Suffolk, is studying a hairdressing course, but she admits that she still misses her homeland. "I miss my country because it's my home, but I can't go home," she said. "Whenever I think about my country, I feel very heartbroken, it's very sad for us." She stated that the exhibition made her feel brave and believed that she was capable of anything.

Local artist Hannah Aria helped organize the exhibition. She explained: "I initially worked with refugees in Ipswich. As you make more connections with people, you come into contact with their stories, and then you want to do something positive to help them." She met others who shared stories through a contact in Afghanistan.

Ms. Aria said the exhibition uses virtual and augmented reality technology to tell the stories of the Afghan people in "an amazing, game-like way." She added that the exhibition aims to apply for more funding to further expand and tell more stories in the future. "We want to change the world," she said.

Rona Panjsheri, who is also from Afghanistan, also participated in the project, saying that talking about Afghan women made her emotional. "Talking about them is really sad, it's all negative things, but there are also some positive things that make me proud of them," she explained. "Three years after Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Taliban, they are still standing up and still have a glimmer of hope."

"We hope that one day they will be free and we can talk more about the positive things about Afghan women and girls," she added, saying that women and girls in Afghanistan "don't have freedom of speech," so it's very important to "continue to tell their stories."