Two Sides

Photography in Afghanistan I

By Fatema Hosseinie

Photography is an important tool to directly deliver messages and present different phenomena and events. Through photography, the mind is provoked and the human soul is touched. 

The English word ‘photography’ has a Greek root and is created of two words — photo — meaning light and — graph — meaning drawing.  Together they mean producing and capturing an image. The art of photography is often seen by Afghan artists as delivering visual accuracy and is therefore considered an important tool to show the ‘reality’ social existence.  At the same time, as an art form, artists can also show emotions and feelings, as well as creativity. In other words, they want the audience to have an emotional or aesthetic response to their works, and not only gain new knowledge.  As a result, photography is special because it can capture a series of present moments that will create histories as well as memories.  Yet, at the same time, it creates art and therefore allows us to question reality, including historical realities and its different representations. 

The history of photography in Afghanistan is relatively new. The first picture ever taken in Afghanistan is a portrait of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, taken in 1869.  It was during the war of succession, after the death of his father Mohammad Afzal Khan, after which he was exiled to Uzbekistan.  The photograph was sent to Saint-Petersburg, due to Russia giving him protection during his exile.  At the time, due to many conservative social and religious norms, painting portraits and taking photographs was, as a general rule, forbidden in the country.  Photography was then seen as the equivalent of worshipping idols, which was forbidden by Islam.  Yet, Amir Abdul Rahman Khan wanted, or was persuaded, to stand in front of the camera to have his portrait taken. Despite the rigid conservative social and religious norms, many kings we enthusiastic about photography and tried to encourage people to learn and practice this art form.  In particular, Habibullah Khan (r. 1919-1929), another Afghan king, was an avid photographer.  He even created an exhibit in one of the corners of his palace and sent many young Afghans to Europe to learn about photography.  During Habibullah Khan’s reign, photography and printmaking flourished and his interest in photography was transmitted to his son, Mohammad Nadir Shah (r. 1929-1933).  When he came to power, he ordered each Afghan citizen to carry identity cards which required photographic pictures.  Therefore, and although many Afghans disagreed with having their pictures taken, they were forced to do so because they were required to have an ID card.  At the time, a majority of people in Afghanistan believed that someone who would take photographs was an infidel.  The late 19th and early 20th centuries would not be the last times the country would be experiencing such duality and differences in beliefs regarding photography and the Arts in general.

In 1994, when the Taliban came to power, photography, cinema, music, television, and many other visual art forms were entirely banned.  Even the news were published in newspapers without any images and singers were solely playing musical instruments and sang without any words (a cappella) on the radio stations.  The only remaining exception was the picture on people’s identity cards.  For these, men had to wear turbans, while women were still not allowed to have their pictures taken.  Instead, they had to use their fingerprints on their identity cards.

Nevertheless, despite all these restrictions, a few photographers were still secretly working and taking photos of wedding ceremonies.  They used to send these photographs to Peshawar, Pakistan, for printing.  Even many Taliban were enthusiastic about taking photography.  For instance, many young religious scholars, with kajel (kohl) applied to their eyes and guns in their hands, used to sit among flowers as their pictures were taken.   After the fall of the Taliban regime, these pictures were made public and shared all over the internet.  Many of these pictures were used in different photo exhibitions in many exhibition halls after the fall of the oppressive regime.  Indeed, these kinds of liberties the Taliban allowed themselves  to have were hung side-by-side with pictures  depicting the everyday realities and difficulties of ordinary Afghans.

After the fall of the Taliban regime and with the rise of the Karzai period, photography  returned to the country even stronger than before.  While there were only a few Afghan photographers in the past, many Afghans today decide to explore this art form and now practice photography.  Amongst Afghan photographers today, Mack Curry’s photographic work is often identified as having had a positive influence in the early post-regime time-period and helped rekindle people’s interests in photography.  He is also seen as a foreign photographers who tried to reintroduce Afghanistan to the world, including its cultures and its people after the Taliban era. 

After the fall of the Taliban regime, the country went through changes that can only be described as revolutionary so radical these changes were.  When it comes to arts and photography, one of these revolutionary changes was the introduction of modern and digital devices, especially camera and iPad.  These devices have been particularly important, especially for the Afghan youth and young minded people.  Furthermore, after the fall of the Taliban regime many Afghan who had fled came back to the country.  Some of them had art skills, including photography, they either learnt abroad or before the Taliban regime.  Many amateur photographers emerged during this period as well.  One of them was Najibullah Mosafir, who studied and graduated from the Art College of Kabul University during the communist regime. He then furthered his studies while in self-exile. Upon his return to Kabul, he established the ‘Third Eye’ center where he taught photography.

The first photo exhibit in Afghanistan of the post-Taliban regime was arranged by the members of this center in 2002.  In this exhibition, many pictures of Central Afghanistan, including Bamiyan, were displayed.  They exposed the heavy damage inflicted by the Talibans to this historical region.  Another important artist who came back to Afghanistan is Reza Deqati.  He established the ‘Ayna the media center’ where many Afghan photographers have been trained.  Masoud Hosseini, who won a Pulitzer Prize for one of his photographs, studied there.

Masoud Hosseini’s award winning photograph showed one of the most tragic events in Afghanistan in recent years.  He captured the aftermath of a suicide bombing at Sakhi, a Shiite shrine in Kabul.  The photograph shows a 12-year-old girl named Taraneh Akbari, standing among the deceased and severely wounded.  Among the victims scattered around her lays her entire family.  The only one standing, the photograph is showing her screaming, clearly in shock.  This image represented, and unfortunately still represents, the painful reality of life in Afghanistan.  For this, Masoud Hosseini won a Pulitzer Prize.  Like Masoud, many other photographers including Farzana Wahedi, Ahmad Masoud, Najibullah Mosafer, Fatema Hosseini, Amir Shah, and many more, won awards and participated, as well as organized, national and international exhibitions.  Most of the international exhibitions were organized by the Ayna Center or the Third Eye Institute.

Despite the many positive changes that have happened, especially in the field of art and photography, a large number of the Afghan people sees art as of very little value in modern Afghanistan.  It is often believed that anyone, at any time, can be an artist and create an artwork.  This misunderstanding of art as being ‘easy’ is often justified by the knowledge that the entrance exams to art colleges, including Kabul University’s, require the lowest marks of all entrance prerequisites.

Nevertheless, a number of artists in Afghanistan are able to show, comment, and expose the living situation in Afghanistan and the everyday experiences of its people.  On one hand, Afghanistan is quite prosperous in terms of natural beauty, natural resources, and farmland.  On the other, Afghanistan has one of the most unstable political environments in the world, where many people live under the poverty line, constantly on the financial edge, while also living under the constant threats of attacks. 

These experiences and difficulties, problems and woes, are framed, commented, and exposed by Afghan artists today.  Yet, even if different art practices are growing and gaining momentum in Afghanistan, only few people choose to become professional artists.  Many who have tried, either left the country, or changed their professions, even if they often keep art making as a hobby.

Furthermore, not only are art practices believed to be unimportant in the country, but Afghan artists are also often seen as subpar to their international counterparts.  Yet, it is unfortunate to favor international artists, especially photographers, over Afghan artists.  Indeed, a number of people with authority believe that international artists are better artists, having more experience or a better, that is established, reputation, than their Afghan compatriots.  This is why international artists are often hired to cover different art related events rather than local artists.  Afghan artists are often discouraged by the lack of recognition in their own country.

Another issue, and indeed a disappointment for many artists, is that potential patrons, curators, and interested audiences in the Arts of Afghanistan are mostly foreigners from different organizations and embassies. Art patronage often comes with its own frame of representation.  In other words, many have specific requests regarding subject-matters and overall representations, leading the country to be represented in a way satisfying to outsiders looking ‘at’ Afghanistan.  Subject-matters chosen by international patrons include poverty, disadvantaged communities and individuals, war, etc.  Yet, it is true that many are still vulnerable in Afghanistan.  For example, there are still women wearing burqas and there are children begging in the streets.  But by focusing on these kinds of images and subject-matters, the international community, as patrons, justifies its own presence in the country.
Photography has had a difficult history in Afghanistan.  It first started as an art form for the elite, while at the same time not accepted by the general population.  Later, photography, like so many other visual art forms, was banned and destroyed.  Now that it is finally accessible to the general public, neither government nor people in the society pay much attention to it or gives it value and importance.  Having said all this, it is important to acknowledge that art practices, including photography, have greatly improved in recent years in Afghanistan.  This is due, in part, to local and international contacts and exchanges of ideas fostered in artistic hubs/centers founded by Afghan artists who fled the country during the Taliban regime.  Artists converge to these hubs for exhibitions, technical training workshops, and creative inspiration.   Within a few years, photography has grown in Afghanistan and now the work of many photographers are exhibited in Afghanistan and abroad.  This means that while Afghanistan used to be represented to the outside world mostly by foreign artists and journalists, Afghan artists are now representing Afghanistan for and by themselves.