Under the Veil: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), an exhibition in association with WorldPictureNews, is a selection of photographs taken illegally-at the risk of death-by women's rights activists in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. RAWA was founded in Kabul in 1977 (by Meena, who was assassinated in 1987) as an independent political and social organization of Afghan women fighting for human rights and social justice, and was directly involved in the war of resistance against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Since the fall of the pro-Soviet regime in 1992, the focus of the political struggle has been against fundamentalism and the misogynist orientation of the Taliban regime. In response to the stifling of women's voices and role in public life, the members of RAWA resorted to photographing the atrocities of the Taliban regime from under their burqas, using both still and video camera! s. ICP will show a selection of these images that illustrate the everyday plight of women under the Taliban, violence against the Afghan citizens, and the political activism of RAWA. Almost all of the images date before September 11, 2001, allowing the audience to witness the political events leading to the subsequent US military involvement in Afghanistan.
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September 13 through December 1
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International Center of Photography (ICP)
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