Notices by elena (elena@poliverso.org)

@KamalaHarrisWin I absolutely agree with this and I'm deeply concerned about the loss of fundamental rights American women have been experiencing lately. That said, that photo of women in Afghanistan requires some nuance.

The photo was taken by French photographer Laurence Brun Lacombe who lived and worked in Afghanistan in 1971-1972. She has said in interviews she feels bad that her photo has been used for political agendas left and right. There is an article about it in the NYPost of all places, where Lacombe was quoted saying:

“Outside of Kabul, every woman wore the chador [burkha]. I went in the country in the houses of the peasants, to Nuristan and Jalalabad. [As a woman,] I could not travel alone.

But in Kabul women could enjoy a bit more freedom. “Most women wore the veil and … a few schoolgirls went with just [a head scarf].”

The article continues: One day, she came across a group of young women in miniskirts. “I was puzzled,” the photographer recalled. “I didn’t believe what I was seeing … They were very young students and naïve. “It was a tiny percent of girls and students who would wear short skirts and it was dangerous for them. They could get acid [splashed] on their legs.”

So these 3 girls in the photo did a real act of bravery - even then.