Last Updated on 11/05/2024 by Nilofer Khan
August 30, 2021, holds a historical significance around the world. It was the day when the last troops of the U.S. military departed Afghanistan, leaving it under the dictatorial regime of the Taliban. In the following weeks, chaos ensued, with the Taliban curbing the rights and freedom of Afghans, particularly women and girls. Today, with over 1.1 million girls now out of school, it becomes increasingly imperative for their voices to be heard. A duo that has made this possible against insurmountable odds is Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Kiana Hayeri and French researcher Mélissa Cornet, whose photo series serves as a poignant reminder of our collective loss.
The lead image and those within the article are by Kiana Hayeri, courtesy of the Fondation Carmignac. You can follow Kiana on her website and Instagram @kianahayeri, and Mélissa on her Instagram @melissacrt.
A Land of A Thousand Suns
Kiana and Mélissa are among the few women journalists and researchers who have lived in the country for several years, even before the fall of the Taliban. Each woman has gathered in-depth knowledge about the varied provinces in the country and, in the past, has also closely worked with hundreds of women and girls on varied projects. However, when the events of 2021 occurred, the duo soon realized that they were witnessing what they described as “a rapidly vanishing world.” To give you more context, according to UN Women, the Taliban has issued 54 edicts for women, which include a complete ban on their education, careers, and freedom of expression. Furthermore, in 2023 alone, 57 women have been flogged and executed, as reported by the research group Afghan Witness.
Another UN Women report notes that women have ‘limited or zero’ influence to make decisions in their communities, with 8% of women knowing at least ‘one other woman or girl who had attempted suicide’. “Over the years, we both witnessed the stark contrast between women’s erasure from public life and their quiet, persistent refusal to disappear,” Kiana and Mélissa jointly say about their project in an exclusive interview with The Phoblographer. “We wanted to give voice to their stories, especially in light of the international community’s withdrawal and silence.”
It was hard to witness the gradual loss of hope among many of the women and girls we interviewed. While some continued to resist in small ways, others were losing the will to fight, which made documenting their stories even more urgent.
Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa CorneT
It was this inspiration that formed the basis of their powerful series No Woman’s Land, a documentary project that portrays the varying facets of Afghan women and girls’ lives. Created over six months, what sets the project apart is not only the courage of the photographer and the researcher but also hundreds of women resisting the Taliban’s ruthless authority despite facing immediate perils to their lives. “This project also serves as a form of resistance in itself, reminding the world that women still exist in Afghanistan, even though the Taliban has been trying to erase them from the eyes of the public, and their fight is ongoing,” the duo jointly tells us.
Kiana and Mélissa’s Arduous Journey
A complex subject always requires one to reveal the various sides of truth and give a holistic perspective of the matters at hand. No Woman’s Land is no different. The photo series is multifaceted, a result of Kiana and Mélissa’s intensive interviews. The two spoke to over 100 women and girls, which has helped them create a thought-provoking body of work. “We gained access through long-standing relationships built over years of working in Afghanistan and by respecting the anonymity of those we photographed,” they tell the Phoblographer. “We also worked closely with local contacts to ensure that the women felt comfortable and empowered in their decision to participate in the project.”
While the women navigated through the narrative one story at a time, they had to proceed cautiously and methodically at every turn. The reason for this is that the country is under “constant surveillance by intelligence services,” which can make any journalist, translator, or even the subject’s movement quite challenging.
“Each meeting required careful consideration, balancing the safety of the women we were photographing with the need to tell their stories,” Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa Cornet share. This also meant that they had to be discreet with their communication and delay the rendezvous when they sensed an imminent threat. “We had to be extremely careful not to put our subjects and our brave local colleagues in danger,” they add.
As for international intervention, sadly, we have seen little meaningful action so far. Governments seem more concerned with maintaining diplomatic ties than addressing the human rights crisis, but we remain hopeful that, through continued pressure, change can happen.
Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa CorneT
The photographs, captured by Kiana, showcase various aspects of an Afghan woman’s life. The pictures depict hope, courage, joy, sorrow, and complete faith in oneself—emotions and aspirations that they are otherwise forced to conceal. From women dancing to playing in the snow to simply letting their hair cascade down their backs, each photograph in No Woman’s Land tugs at your heartstrings. And when you see them alongside sketches, videos, and artwork from Afghan teenage girls, which Kiana and Mélissa accumulated during their research, one’s heart-achingly stirs to help them. “Their creativity became a poignant way to document their lives under the Taliban, and we wanted to incorporate their own perspectives,” says the duo, explaining their decision to include artworks from others. “It was important for us to show that despite the oppression, Afghan girls are still trying to carve out their own spaces of freedom, no matter how small, and to visualize and paint their dreams.”
Sharing how such captivating photographs were made, Kiana says she used her Nikon D850 along with a 24-70 mm f2.8 lens. Sometimes, she used two speed lights and gels for her portraits. “The setup has also been instrumental in shaping the new visual language we developed for this project, adding neon colors to resemble the outdoor scenes women have been erased from,” Kiana explains. The pictures were “very minimally” edited, such as fixing the exposure and color temperatures — which falls in line with journalistic ethics for many publications around the world.
What the Future Holds
No Woman’s Land was recently produced with the support of the 14th Carmignac Photojournalism Award and is also being exhibited at the PhotoSaintGermain festival. Speaking about their achievement, Kiana and Mélissa share: “We owe this recognition to the women who risked everything to speak out, hoping their stories would ignite change. They should be the ones celebrated for their courage.”
It is bittersweet to be acknowledged for this work, while the women whose voices we raised are being silenced in Afghanistan.
Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa CorneT
Both women acknowledged the support of the Carmignac Foundation while pressing on the significance of keeping the momentum going on the subject. “We owe it to them to keep their stories alive and to continue advocating for their rights long after the headlines fade. Their fight isn’t over, and neither is ours,” the photographer and researcher explain. Perhaps the saving grace is that the Carmignac Foundation is currently working with Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa Cornet to create an immersive website “so that these stories can reach an even wider audience.” In addition, the duo are hoping to further the cause with a potential release of a photograph next year.
As girls lose their childhood and women lose their will to live, Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa Cornet are urging the international community to intervene and make Afghanistan a better place for them. The duo rightly stated that access to Afghan women is “a window that is closing fast.” If we don’t change the narrative now, I’m afraid we may be too late.