FINDING THEIR VOICE AFGHANISTAN
Photographs and videos illustrating the changing role women play within the traditionally male dominated society of Afghanistan. This body of work was captured over the course of four years when Ellie lived and worked in Afghanistan (2009 - 2014) during the on-going conflict. The work documents women’s everyday lives, from their traditional role within the household, to their right to an education and to their newly found positions in the workplace. UN-Habitat undertook a number of indicatives to improve the living situation of women and children across 7 provinces in Afghanistan; Bamiyan; Herat; Helmand; Jalalabad; Kabul; Kandahar and Mazar. The three videos were commissioned by UN-Habitat to showcase the positive impact their infrastructure and female empowerment programmes have had on the communities they have worked in.
This video follows a tailoring business run by women in Herat, Afghanistan. The women have set up this business with the support of the CLUIP programme established by UN-Habitat. Fahima is the team leader for the tailoring programme and describes how it has changed the lives of the women in the community, giving them confidence and empowering them in the workplace.
This video follows a soap production business run by women in Mazar, Afghanistan. The women have set up this business with the support of the CLUIP programme established by UN-Habitat. Fahima Azimi is the team leader for the soap programme and describes how after her husband died she was forced to marry her late husbands brother who was 85 years old. Fahima describes how she suffered from mental illness during this time and it was not until she became part of this programme that there was hope. Now Fahima helps educate other women in the community and has made a profitable business from this programme.
Dil Jan is one of 350,000 beneficiaries of the Community Lead Urban Infrastructure Programme being implemented by UN-Habitat in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Dil Jan is a widower and says before the programme it was hard for her to ever leave the house. The CLUIP programme has put control back in the communities hands but allowing them to build the programmes objectives. This programme has built new roads, drainage, street lighting, vocational training and opened the first women's park in Kandahar. Dil Jan says that these improvements in infrastructure have really changed the lives of the women living in the community.