In 2020, some 60 Afghan citizens, many of them models and at least 10 of them teenagers or children, took part in a beauty contest in Kabul, one of the world's most dangerous capital cities. But prompted by fears that the Taliban might respond with violence, the event to determine both Afghanistan’s most beautiful man and beautiful woman was not as high profile as it might be in other parts of the world, and invitations were sent out to the media in secret.
The Taliban is well known for its opposition to women’s rights, and by extension to the concept of universal human rights. The fact that it objects to modeling or beauty contests — whether for women or men — comes as no surprise.
Modeling is a dangerous profession in Afghanistan, and models regularly face threatened and even actual violence. Regardless, many people pursue the profession, and Afghanistan’s fashion industry is intact, even if it doesn’t always necessarily thrive. For many female models, it has been vital that their profession sends a clear message: the dark era of Taliban rule over Afghans, especially women, is over. Today, as the country reels from a fresh Taliban onslaught following the US forces' departure from the country in May, many Afghans are desperately hoping that this and the strong sentiment behind it will be able to survive.
IranWire's citizen journalist spoke to people in the Afghan fashion industry about their hopes and fears.
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The first contest to decide Afghanistan’s most beautiful male and female models took place a decade ago in Kabul, on December 26, 2010. At the most recent contest 2020, the jury selected young models Negar Sadat and Morteza Safi as Afghanistan’s most beautiful people.
Holding a modeling competition in Kabul is a major and dangerous challenge, as are so many activities that constitute “normal” life in many places around the world. Journalists and civil society and human rights activists are routinely targeted by the Taliban and other groups, including other Islamist factions. For women, the dangers are particularly acute.
Taliban rule came to an end in 2001 following the United States-led invasion. Under the Taliban, Afghan women were deprived of their basic rights, and banned from pursuing education or even leaving their homes. For many Afghans, women and men alike, this history looms large, a period they regard as backwards, and one they would rather forget.
Modeling: Part of a Healthy, Progressive Society
"Afghanistan's security situation is very bad and everyone is scared," said Negar Sadat, who only came to the modeling profession recently, but is already well known to many Afghans. "If the war ends, we will be able to pursue modeling in a peaceful environment. I will work hard to help build the industry.”
Sadat says it was hard to persuade her family that it was a good idea for her to take up modeling. "Some people in Afghanistan have a negative view of modeling and consider it not to be a good job,” she told IranWire. She also said that it’s her dream to be a model, but so is ensuring peace and supporting women’s futures: it always has been.
Model Morteza Safi also spoke to IranWire about the difficulties of championing modeling in such a traditional society, and highlighted the specific dangers in provinces such as Helmand and Farah. "In insecure provinces, I encourage young people to turn to modeling. When there is peace in Afghanistan, many families will allow their children to model,” he said.
One key figure in the Taliban who has championed the well-known values and ideology of the insurgent group is Anas Haqqani, part of a network behind attacks on Afghan and Nato forces as well as some of the most devastating and horrific attacks on civilians. Haqqani was captured in 2014 but released in 2019 as part of a prisoner swap negotiated to free two Western academics in Taliban custody.
Haqqani’s release sparked fears about security in Afghanistan, specifically about the safety of women. He had even explicitly singled out modeling as something he planned to destroy. "Everything here [in Afghanistan] that is in conflict with Islam and the authentic traditions of Afghanistan has been and will be destroyed. This nation has never accepted a foreign culture. Read history.”
Modelistan
An organization calling itself "Modelistan" provides employment opportunities for young Afghan models, as well as training. IranWire spoke to Ahmad Vali, who runs the initiative. He denied that his company or the industry were, as Anas Haqqani claims, promoting Western countries and their values.
He said he’d like to ask the Taliban why, if modeling is against Islamic values, do fashion shows take place in so many Islamic countries? "Modeling exists in Islamic countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Qatar. They have training institutions and agencies to represent models."
Ahmad Vali looks forward to a fresh future for fashion in Afghanistan, and adds, "Taliban or no Taliban, this doesn’t change our work. There are many young people interested in working in modeling, and we will grow further.” He did concede, however, that putting an end to any Taliban rule in Afghanistan would be a positive development for the industry.
Afrasiab Arabzadeh has been working as a model in Kabul for the past four years. Before the recent escalation in fighting, he called on the Taliban to make a pledge to maintain the achievements of Afghan society, including the growth of the fashion industry, which he said was one of many industries that would help further Afghan society, not least because the industry has links with the media industry. “In Afghanistan, business advertising and video production is partially produced by people in the modeling or fashion world.”
"We are not opposed to the Taliban, but we are concerned about bombings and assassinations," he told IranWire.
Peace talks with the Taliban are ongoing, but it’s hard to find too much optimism about the outcome. Media have described the talks as “deadlocked” and one US official said the Taliban was demanding “the lion's share of power" in the formation of any new government – a demand many countries around the world will not welcome.
In the past, and even after the Taliban's recent gains, there have been suggestions that the Taliban would be willing to soften its extreme stance on the rights of women. But analysts and experts are skeptical, and the recent surge of fighting has done nothing to persuade Afghans or the wider world that any aspect of the Taliban’s vision or ideology has changed. For many Afghans, the battles being fought at the moment are about the very survival of some of their hard-won progresss and achievements in society over the last 20 years. All of this now seems under threat. And yet, people like Negar Sadat and Morteza Safi symbolize the hope that still flourishes there, despite the desperate situation. And many hope that some sort of understanding can be forged between Afghanistan’s more extreme factions and those who see themselves as promoting progress. A mutual respect is needed, and, many hope, is still possible.
This article was written by a Afghan citizen journalist in Kabul under a pseudonym.
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