Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap took to social media on Monday, August 16, to share an appeal made by Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi, who is the first female chairperson of the Afghan Film Organisation. In an open letter, Sahraa appealed to the international community to end its silence on the tragedy that Afghanistan is confronting as it is overrun by the Taliban. Urging people to share the message, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap reposted Sahraa’s appeal and wrote: “Pls share it far and wide…”
In the letter, Sahraa talked about the horrors the Taliban has inflicted upon the people of Afghanistan. She wrote about the Taliban selling girls off as child brides to their fighters; gouging out the eyes of women who did not wear the ‘right’ clothes; assassinating members of the government, notably the head of media and culture, as well as a comedian, a historian and a poet; and displacing hundreds of thousands of families, who are now living in unsanitary conditions in Kabul, "their babies dying because there's no milk".
Questioning the silence of international humanitarian organisations on the situation in Afghanistan, and the legitimacy of the peace talks, Sahraa wrote, "We have grown accustomed to this silence, yet we know it is not fair. We know that this decision to abandon our people is wrong, that this hasty troop withdrawal is a betrayal of our people."
She pointed out that the peace talks had only emboldened the Taliban to step up their war against the legitimate government of Afghanistan and brutalise the people. Warning of the imminent descent of dark days over her country as when the Taliban first ruled Afghanistan, Sahraa stated, “The media, governments, and the world humanitarian organizations are conveniently silent as if this ‘Peace deal’ with the Taliban was ever legitimate. It was never legitimate. Recognizing them gave them the confidence to come back to power. The Taliban has been brutalizing our people throughout the entire process of the talks. Everything that I have worked so hard to build as a filmmaker in my country is at risk of falling.”.
Highlighting what Taliban rule could mean for Afghanistan's creative community and its women, the filmmaker wrote: "If the Taliban takes over it will ban art. I and other filmmakers could be next on their hit list. They will strip away women's rights, we will be pushed to the shadows, to our homes, and our voices will be stifled into silence. Just in these few weeks, the Taliban have destroyed many schools and two million girls are now forced out of school."
Sahraa ended the open letter with an appeal to the world to stand behind people like her. “Please help us get this world to not abandon Afghanistan. Please help us before the Taliban take over Kabul. We have such little time, maybe days,” she added.
Taliban insurgents captured the capital city of Kabul on August 15. The militant group is now in control of most of Afghanistan. The presidential palace has also been seized by the Taliban. Ashraf Ghani, the president of Afghanistan fled the country on Sunday, following hours of negotiations for a peaceful transition of power. Thousands of people have made their way to Kabul over the past few days from other parts of Afghanistan and many have flooded the Kabul airport in an attempt to leave the country.
To All the #Film_Communities in The World and Who Loves Film and Cinema!
— Sahraa Karimi/ صحرا كريمي (@sahraakarimi) August 13, 2021
I write to you with a broken heart and a deep hope that you can join me in protecting my beautiful people, especially filmmakers from the Taliban. #Share it please, don't be #silent. pic.twitter.com/4FjW6deKUi