Photographer Lalage Snow traveled to four provinces across Afghanistan and photographed 30 women – from IDP’s to MP’s. She asked them: what was your life like during the Taliban? What has changed? What do you hope for the future?
The women were photographed against a background of black fabric that traveled with Snow throughout the country. She met and photographed women in camps, sparse mud homes, offices and gardens. Their context hidden by the fabric behind them. The result is a simple and powerful story of two Afghanistan’s: an Afghanistan where women in poor and isolated areas have seen little difference in their lives the last 13 years and still need enormous support to build a better future, and an Afghanistan where women have seen enormous change and have been given the chance to take new opportunities to study, work and actively contribute to their country.
What all these women share, from the poorest to the most high-profile politician, is their deep sense of hope for their, their children and their countries future.