"A group of women attend a secret sewing class in Bamyan, the same city where, in 2001, the Taliban blew up two monumental Buddhas carved into rock. Meanwhile, in a clandestine workshop in Kabul, a young woman teaches another how to apply makeup. And, in the neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital in Afghanistan one of the few areas where women can work after the Taliban's return to power in August of 2021 a doctor washes her hands."
"And, after the Taliban took power [in 2021], news from within [the country] was scarce; we knew that women were disappearing from public life, but not how they were actually living, Sinis explains, in an interview with EL PAIS at the Ortega-Maranon Foundation, in Madrid, where her photographs along with those of the 2025 winner, Samuel Nacar, as well as the other two finalists, Jehad Al-Sharafi and Santi Palacios will be on display until February 28."
Photographer Valentina Sinis captured Afghan women in private, resilient moments: secret sewing classes in Bamyan, clandestine makeup lessons in Kabul, and a doctor working in a neonatal intensive care unit. The images form a project titled Were Afghan Women to Unveil Their Tales and emphasize women's continued presence and need for recognition after the Taliban's 2021 return to power. Sinis traveled to Afghanistan in late 2024 without institutional support and became the second finalist for the 2025 Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award. Her photographs will be exhibited at the Ortega-Maranon Foundation in Madrid alongside other finalists' work until February 28. Female participation in the 2025 award comprised 36% of entrants.
Read at english.elpais.com
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