Their work has been on display this month as part of the sprawling outdoor Photoville exhibition in Brooklyn, New York.
The cousins do not want their real names revealed because they fear Taliban retribution for their work. So they use the pseudonyms Mahnaz Ebrahimi (born in 2000) and Somayeh Ebrahimi (born in 2001). They live in a remote Afghan mountain farming village. They and their families, all members of the Hazara ethnic group and Shia Muslims, had previously worked as carpet weavers in Kabul. When the Taliban regained power in 2021, they left, seeking refuge from the repression and persecution permitted under the laws of the country's ultra-conservative Sunni rulers.
Neither cousin had any training in photography when they started taking photos on their cellphones a few years ago.
Our story explains: "While the images are set against the autobiographical backdrop of where they live, the poses struck by those photographed and their interactions with their physical and natural surroundings suggest interior dreams and fantasies."
A new Taliban law opens the door to child marriage even further
Child marriage has long been a problem in Afghanistan. A 2021 UNICEF report estimated that 28% of Afghan women aged 15–49 years were married before the age of 18. A new decree issued by the Taliban's Ministry of Justice will add to the numbers, say researchers and activists who follow this issue.
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