Culture

The women in this photo exemplify choices women were able to make in dress and livelihood before the Taliban takeover. One woman is wearing a blue burqa and carrying dairy products. The other is wearing just a hair covering and walking to university. New restrictions that came with the regime change in 2021 require women to wear a full burqa, covering the body and full face to show only their eyes, and prevents women from attending school. (Bamyan, April 2020).

Photo by Sabira Madady

Bamyan’s cold climate makes it suitable for growing potatoes - the primary production in Bamyan and the source of many families' income. Women and girls work in the field along with male family members throughout the process of cultivation, irrigation, and harvest. An annual Potato Flower Festival held in Bamyan put on display a variety of potatoes and potato products. (Center of Bamyan, July 2021).

Photo by Sabira Madady

A young girl wearing a school uniform walks by a mural that reads, “Life in peace is beautiful,” both in Persian and Pashto. (Center of Bamyan, March 2021)

Photo by Sabira Madady