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(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)

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RAMITA NAVAI: We're entering a world
where women are disappearing...

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(CELL DOOR CLANKS)

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..where they're jailed without trial,

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their fate unknown...

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..where girls are abducted
from their homes

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..where girls are abducted
and forcibly married...

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and forcibly married...

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..where women live in hiding...

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(WOMAN CRIES)

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(WOMAN CRIES)
and in fear of their lives...

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..hunted
and in fear of their lives...

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..and those who speak out
risk imprisonment.

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This is the Afghanistan

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the Taliban
don't want the world to see.

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After the Taliban swept to power
and proclaimed Islamic law,

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After the Taliban swept to power
and proclaimed Islamic law,
we began investigating
the fate of Afghanistan's women,

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we began investigating
the fate of Afghanistan's women,

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often working undercover.

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The regime had pledged
to protect women's rights,

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but we'd heard reports
that in the west of the country

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young women had started disappearing
without trace.

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I had the name of one of them.

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We're going to call her Maryam.

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(ISLAMIC CALL TO PRAYER
OVER LOUDSPEAKERS)

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(TRAFFIC BUZZES)

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In Herat city centre

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the Taliban were on the watch

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for anyone
who might be a threat to their rule

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or anyone breaking their strict
interpretation of Islamic law.

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The day before

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they'd shot dead a doctor
who failed to stop at a checkpoint.

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We keep hearing
that Taliban Intelligence

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We keep hearing
is really strong here in Herat

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is really strong here in Herat

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and that there are informants
everywhere,

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and that there are informants
everywhere,
so, while everything seems normal,

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so, while everything seems normal,

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when you talk to people here,

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there's a real atmosphere
of fear and mistrust.

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The brother of Maryam, the missing
woman, was waiting on a side street.

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He didn't want to be seen
with journalists.

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We would soon find

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this was a country where many people
were afraid to talk.

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Maryam had disappeared
three weeks ago.

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Her mother showed me pictures
of her graduating

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just before the Taliban takeover.

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)
Mm-hm.

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Her dream
was to become a film director.

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They've packed all her things away

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and they just...

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Her mother broke down crying as
she's going through her things now.

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Ah...

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We asked a group of female lawyers
in Herat

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We asked a group of female lawyers
to look into Maryam's disappearance.

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to look into Maryam's disappearance.

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The Taliban had banned them
from working and were watching them,

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The Taliban had banned them
but they agreed to help.

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but they agreed to help.

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Within days the lawyers called us
to a secret meeting.

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They had inside information on what
might have happened to Maryam.

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These women say they are risking
their lives just by being here,

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but they've come because they think
it's important the world knows

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what's happening
to women and girls in Herat.

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Their contacts had told them

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that the Istikhbarat, the feared
Taliban Intelligence service,

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that the Istikhbarat, the feared
was jailing women without trial

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was jailing women without trial

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for so-called moral crimes,

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such as travelling
without a male relative.

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The lawyer said
it suited the Taliban

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to keep what the regime
was doing to the women secret.

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(TRAFFIC HUMS)

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Maryam's family
had finally received news of her.

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Salaam.
Salaam.

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Salaam.
(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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Maryam was alive.

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She was being held
in Herat Central Prison.

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The family received a letter

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from their daughter

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that was smuggled out of prison.

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Her sister read it out to us.

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In her letter Maryam said
that some friends had been arrested

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for riding in a taxi
without a male relative.

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They called from a police station
asking for help.

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They called from a police station
When Maryam arrived

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When Maryam arrived

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she too was arrested
by Taliban Intelligence agents.

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Maryam's family asked
the Taliban authorities about her,

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Maryam's family asked
but they denied she was in jail.

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but they denied she was in jail.

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To find out the truth,

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without mentioning Maryam's name,
we asked to film in the prison.

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A week later
the Taliban sent their answer.

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We've been told
we can film in the men's section,

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and, when we're there, we're going
to see if we can get permission

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and, when we're there, we're going
to film in the women's section.

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to film in the women's section.

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The new Taliban prison governor,
Mullah Mohammad Nabi Khalil,

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The new Taliban prison governor,
was waiting for us.

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was waiting for us.

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He wanted to show the world
he ran his prison correctly.

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Our tour of the men's wing began,

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watched by a dozen Taliban escorts.

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We were told
not to speak to prisoners.

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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The governor said
there were over 700 men,

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mostly charged with theft
and awaiting trial.

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Eventually,
the prison chief agreed to take us

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to where we suspected Maryam
and the other women were being held.

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We're about to enter
the women's prison,

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We're about to enter
and he's already told me

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and he's already told me

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that we can't interview
any of the prisoners on camera.

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I'm going to see
if I can chat to them.

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Using a hidden camera

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I started to film.

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Around 40 women
were huddled in a courtyard.

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At least another 50
were locked up in nearby cells.

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They were the missing women
we'd been looking for.

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Salaam.

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No-one knew I was filming,

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but the prison chief sent orders
to stop talking to the prisoners.

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(MAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

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Then I spotted a young woman

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I recognised from the photographs
her mother had shown me.

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It was Maryam.

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How are you doing?

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I spoke in English
so the guards wouldn't understand.

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I spoke in English
Why have you been taken?

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Why have you been taken?

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And what for? What crime?

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OK.

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I'm a prison guard told Maryam
to stop speaking English.
OK.

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I'm a prison guard told Maryam
to stop speaking English.

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Maryam told me what she knew
the guard would want to hear.

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Uh-uh.

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OK.

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Good to see you. Good to see you.
Great to speak to you.

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Thank you so much.

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We were asked to leave.

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The Taliban has insisted to the world
it protects women's rights,

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but what had begun
as a search for Maryam

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had revealed dozens of women
jailed without trial

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had revealed dozens of women
for leaving their husbands

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for leaving their husbands

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or for sheltering in refuges
from domestic abuse

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or even just for travelling
unaccompanied.

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Maryam's family could now
search for ways to free her.

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(TRAFFIC BUZZES)

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In the capital

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we found an underground network

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of young women
running secret safe houses.

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They were helping other women and
their families escape the Taliban.

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The regime says

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it doesn't persecute people
for the jobs they held in the past,

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but the network's experience
was different.

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Hundreds of men and women
have disappeared or been murdered,

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including female police officers,
lawyers and journalists.

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The network called a family
seeking refuge in the city.

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MAN: (ON PHONE) Hello?

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Many of the families
hope to leave Afghanistan.

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The women organising the network
lived in hiding.

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The Taliban
was searching for them too.

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Another family
was about to arrive in Kabul.

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I just got a phone call
from one of the women's network.

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She says that they've received
an urgent message

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about a family
that have fled Takhar Province.

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They fled the Taliban and
they're on their way to Kabul now.

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They fled the Taliban and
They don't know anyone here,

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They don't know anyone here,

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they've got no money
They don't know anyone here,

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they've got no money
and they need help.

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The network planned
to meet the family outside Kabul

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and bring them to a safe house
inside the city.

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It would mean a dangerous journey
through Taliban checkpoints.

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To make sure
they're not being followed

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they change taxis several times.

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I was filming with a hidden camera.

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They met the family
in a room near a bus station.

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Aisha, her husband and four children
had travelled 15 hours

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at constant risk of arrest.

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They'd abandoned their possessions
and were destitute.

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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They were taken to a safe house.

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Aisha had been a radio journalist,

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but, although the Taliban pledged
there'd be a free press,

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dozens of journalists
have been attacked or arrested,

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and, the week before, they'd
stepped up their search for Aisha.

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She says the Taliban
arrested her brother,

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torturing him in the hope
he'd reveal Aisha's whereabouts.

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(TRAFFIC DRONES)

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(TRAFFIC DRONES)
(BIRDS TWITTER)

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(BIRDS TWITTER)

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Some women in Kabul still dared to
openly challenge the Taliban's claims

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Some women in Kabul still dared to
to uphold the rights of women.

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to uphold the rights of women.

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We came across a demonstration,

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which I joined,
filming with a hidden camera.

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One of the Taliban's first actions

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was to close
One of the Taliban's first actions

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was to close
the Ministry of Women's Affairs,

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was to close
describing it as having no function.

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describing it as having no function.

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These women all worked there
and were demanding their jobs back.

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(CAR HORNS BLARE)

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Our director filmed at a distance.

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But agents from the Taliban
Intelligence service arrived,

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But agents from the Taliban
breaking up the protest

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breaking up the protest

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and threatening our director
breaking up the protest

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and threatening our director
with violence

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before taking his camera.
and threatening our director
with violence

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before taking his camera.

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(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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The protesters scattered

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and we drove off
before we could be detained.

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The Taliban says
these protests are banned

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The Taliban says
in the interests of public security.

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in the interests of public security.

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(ISLAMIC CALL TO PRAYER
in the interests of public security.

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(ISLAMIC CALL TO PRAYER
OVER LOUDSPEAKERS)

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We've been in touch with quite
a few women protesters here in Kabul,

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We've been in touch with quite
but the same thing keeps happening -

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but the same thing keeps happening -

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we arrange to meet them

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and they pull out
we arrange to meet them

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and they pull out
because the Taliban get to them,

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see them at protests
and the threats start.

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But there's one women's group
who continue to meet,

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and they're allowing us to join them
at a secret meeting tomorrow.

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(CHATTER IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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In the past few months

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this group had organised 52 protests

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demanding
the reopening of girls schools.

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They were the first women we met

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willing to show their faces
on camera.

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Before the Taliban took over,

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Lena was a lawyer.

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Wahida was a librarian.

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Arifa had been about to open
a restaurant.

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Arifa had been about to open
Overnight she lost everything.

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Overnight she lost everything.

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(GROUP SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

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The group debated their next step.

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The Taliban Intelligence service

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had that week warned
the women to stop their protests

250
00:21:51,540 --> 00:21:51,780
had that week warned
or face jail or even death.

251
00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:54,420
or face jail or even death.

252
00:21:56,420 --> 00:21:58,780
(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

253
00:22:44,260 --> 00:22:46,660
In Herat
Maryam was still in prison.

254
00:22:51,700 --> 00:22:54,020
Because there was no trace of her
in the system

255
00:22:54,020 --> 00:22:54,260
Because there was no trace of her
and no crime had been recorded,

256
00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:56,020
and no crime had been recorded,

257
00:22:56,020 --> 00:22:58,660
her family had been able
to use their connections

258
00:22:58,660 --> 00:23:02,020
and negotiate directly
with the Taliban.

259
00:23:07,500 --> 00:23:09,700
There'd been a breakthrough.

260
00:23:09,700 --> 00:23:13,500
(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

261
00:23:16,620 --> 00:23:21,500
Her mother was just standing at the
house gates waiting for her daughter.

262
00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:33,540
(CRIES)

263
00:23:36,940 --> 00:23:41,460
Finally, Maryam and her mother
were reunited.

264
00:23:41,460 --> 00:23:45,140
(BOTH CRY)

265
00:23:52,980 --> 00:23:57,260
Maryam's friends had also
been released and were with her.

266
00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:07,220
Maryam told us

267
00:24:07,220 --> 00:24:07,460
that when she went to the police
Maryam told us

268
00:24:07,460 --> 00:24:10,220
that when she went to the police
station to help her friends

269
00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:10,460
that when she went to the police
a Talib had taken her phone.

270
00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:12,460
a Talib had taken her phone.

271
00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:41,500
The other girls said
they were tasered and beaten too.

272
00:25:11,380 --> 00:25:13,140
The other prisoners told them

273
00:25:13,140 --> 00:25:17,380
they'd also been jailed
without any investigation or trial.

274
00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:33,420
Maryam and her friends said the
Taliban offered them an escape route.

275
00:26:06,820 --> 00:26:08,300
Just as we were leaving

276
00:26:08,300 --> 00:26:11,980
one of the women took me aside and
told me they are now marked women,

277
00:26:11,980 --> 00:26:15,860
that the families are blaming them
for dishonouring the community

278
00:26:15,860 --> 00:26:17,380
and that nobody will marry them.

279
00:26:17,380 --> 00:26:21,060
She also says that none
of those women can leave their homes

280
00:26:21,060 --> 00:26:23,100
not just because
they're scared of the Taliban

281
00:26:23,100 --> 00:26:25,340
but because
they're scared of the neighbours.

282
00:26:25,340 --> 00:26:28,340
They've gone from one prison
to another.

283
00:26:28,340 --> 00:26:28,580
They've gone from one prison
(CHILDREN SHOUT AT PLAY)

284
00:26:28,580 --> 00:26:32,260
(CHILDREN SHOUT AT PLAY)

285
00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:37,180
We'd heard reports

286
00:26:37,180 --> 00:26:38,460
that, in another province,

287
00:26:38,460 --> 00:26:41,180
Talibs were using violence
and intimidation

288
00:26:41,180 --> 00:26:41,420
Talibs were using violence
to force young girls into marriage,

289
00:26:41,420 --> 00:26:43,660
to force young girls into marriage,

290
00:26:43,660 --> 00:26:47,180
despite the regime announcing
the practice was forbidden.

291
00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:51,340
We travelled north to Badakhshan

292
00:26:51,340 --> 00:26:54,820
through the Salang Tunnel
and the Hindu Kush Mountains.

293
00:27:08,620 --> 00:27:11,100
Salaam. (SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

294
00:27:22,380 --> 00:27:26,700
Faizabad was one of the last northern
cities to fall to the Taliban.

295
00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:26,940
Faizabad was one of the last northern
(TRAFFIC BUZZES)

296
00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:29,860
(TRAFFIC BUZZES)

297
00:27:31,220 --> 00:27:35,580
Now fighters from the mountains
roamed the streets.

298
00:27:38,460 --> 00:27:43,180
If they wanted to snatch girls
for marriage, no-one could stop them.

299
00:27:47,380 --> 00:27:50,380
This is footage we verified,

300
00:27:50,380 --> 00:27:50,620
and we know the identities
This is footage we verified,

301
00:27:50,620 --> 00:27:53,460
and we know the identities
of those involved.

302
00:27:54,460 --> 00:27:57,300
Taliban fighters
have tied a man to a tree

303
00:27:57,300 --> 00:27:57,540
Taliban fighters
and are beating him with rifle butts.

304
00:27:57,540 --> 00:28:00,340
and are beating him with rifle butts.

305
00:28:00,340 --> 00:28:03,380
(INDISTINCT YELLING)

306
00:28:06,020 --> 00:28:07,740
He'd encountered the fighters

307
00:28:07,740 --> 00:28:11,780
abducting a girl to be forcibly
married to a Taliban commander

308
00:28:11,780 --> 00:28:12,020
abducting a girl to be forcibly
and tried to intervene.

309
00:28:12,020 --> 00:28:13,780
and tried to intervene.

310
00:28:17,620 --> 00:28:20,740
(INDISTINCT YELLING)

311
00:28:20,740 --> 00:28:24,020
The attack lasted 30 minutes.

312
00:28:27,260 --> 00:28:30,100
(INDISTINCT YELLING)

313
00:28:33,220 --> 00:28:36,260
I've spoken to four contacts
so far here in Badakhshan Province

314
00:28:36,260 --> 00:28:36,500
I've spoken to four contacts
and they've all told me

315
00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:37,740
and they've all told me

316
00:28:37,740 --> 00:28:37,980
that the Taliban are forcefully
and they've all told me

317
00:28:37,980 --> 00:28:41,780
that the Taliban are forcefully
taking women and girls as brides,

318
00:28:41,780 --> 00:28:44,460
and one person said
it just happened to her own cousin,

319
00:28:44,460 --> 00:28:46,980
but they're all too scared
to even meet me

320
00:28:46,980 --> 00:28:51,700
because Faizabad is a small town
and the Taliban monitor everything.

321
00:29:04,580 --> 00:29:07,700
A wealthy businessman
met with us secretly.

322
00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:07,940
A wealthy businessman
He said, a few weeks earlier,

323
00:29:07,940 --> 00:29:09,460
He said, a few weeks earlier,

324
00:29:09,460 --> 00:29:12,220
his 19-year-old cousin
had been forced to marry

325
00:29:12,220 --> 00:29:16,820
a powerful Taliban commander
40 years older than her.

326
00:29:28,340 --> 00:29:31,540
The Taliban commander
had come to the girl's home,

327
00:29:31,540 --> 00:29:36,700
put a gun to her father's head and
demanded his consent to the marriage.

328
00:30:02,340 --> 00:30:05,580
In a different province
we met another man

329
00:30:05,580 --> 00:30:09,620
who'd also witnessed a girl
being kidnapped by the Taliban.

330
00:30:35,260 --> 00:30:38,580
When he challenged the Taliban,
they turned on him.

331
00:30:38,580 --> 00:30:38,820
When he challenged the Taliban,
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

332
00:30:38,820 --> 00:30:39,620
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

333
00:30:48,540 --> 00:30:49,580
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

334
00:30:54,260 --> 00:30:55,260
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)

335
00:30:55,260 --> 00:30:58,580
Neighbours saved him,
pleading for his life.

336
00:30:58,580 --> 00:31:01,740
He told us the Taliban
were increasingly aggressive,

337
00:31:01,740 --> 00:31:01,980
He told us the Taliban
especially towards women.

338
00:31:01,980 --> 00:31:03,660
especially towards women.

339
00:31:35,300 --> 00:31:37,940
What's striking
about being in the countryside

340
00:31:37,940 --> 00:31:42,220
is that we're hearing so many stories
of abuse at the hands of the Taliban,

341
00:31:42,220 --> 00:31:44,460
but none of these stories
are getting out.

342
00:31:44,460 --> 00:31:46,700
The area's remote,
journalists have fled

343
00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:50,580
and the Taliban beat anyone caught
filming something they don't like.

344
00:31:56,900 --> 00:31:58,380
Under the Taliban

345
00:31:58,380 --> 00:32:02,460
more than half of Afghanistan's
media outlets have closed,

346
00:32:02,460 --> 00:32:02,700
more than half of Afghanistan's
but in Faizabad

347
00:32:02,700 --> 00:32:03,980
but in Faizabad

348
00:32:03,980 --> 00:32:04,220
Radio Sada-e-Banoan -
but in Faizabad

349
00:32:04,220 --> 00:32:07,100
Radio Sada-e-Banoan -
The Voice Of Women -

350
00:32:07,100 --> 00:32:07,340
Radio Sada-e-Banoan -
was still on air.

351
00:32:07,340 --> 00:32:09,020
was still on air.

352
00:32:09,980 --> 00:32:13,020
(RADIO HOST
SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

353
00:32:23,860 --> 00:32:26,660
The station
was founded and run by women,

354
00:32:26,660 --> 00:32:26,900
The station
but now only men were in the studio.

355
00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:29,660
but now only men were in the studio.

356
00:32:43,460 --> 00:32:46,340
The Talib information chief's
first caller

357
00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:48,580
was a journalist
from the radio station

358
00:32:48,580 --> 00:32:51,020
asking if she was allowed
to return to work.

359
00:33:24,980 --> 00:33:28,020
(SPEAKS IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

360
00:33:33,300 --> 00:33:35,860
(CHATTER IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

361
00:33:44,540 --> 00:33:47,940
(DOG BARKS)

362
00:33:49,540 --> 00:33:51,940
Later, when the station was off air,

363
00:33:51,940 --> 00:33:56,500
we returned to meet its founder
and head, Najia Sorosh.

364
00:33:58,820 --> 00:33:59,860
Hello?

365
00:33:59,860 --> 00:34:00,060
Najia, salaam.
Hello?

366
00:34:00,060 --> 00:34:01,460
Najia, salaam.

367
00:34:08,740 --> 00:34:12,540
The Taliban had banned Najia from
the office when men were present,

368
00:34:12,540 --> 00:34:12,780
The Taliban had banned Najia from
citing Islamic law.

369
00:34:12,780 --> 00:34:14,700
citing Islamic law.

370
00:34:17,180 --> 00:34:21,540
She said they wanted her to resign
and she was being threatened.

371
00:34:45,020 --> 00:34:49,300
The Taliban had told her
women could no longer host phone-ins

372
00:34:49,300 --> 00:34:53,260
in case they inflamed the passions
of male callers.

373
00:35:14,220 --> 00:35:15,780
A few days later

374
00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:18,180
Najia would flee the province,

375
00:35:18,180 --> 00:35:22,140
saying the threats against her
had become too much.

376
00:35:25,060 --> 00:35:28,140
(CHATTER IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

377
00:35:42,420 --> 00:35:45,340
After being released from prison
in Herat

378
00:35:45,340 --> 00:35:49,260
Maryam had contacted the underground
women's network in Kabul.

379
00:35:54,140 --> 00:35:57,740
We filmed as they met Maryam
outside the airport.

380
00:35:57,740 --> 00:36:01,620
Her brother and younger sister
had come too.

381
00:36:06,500 --> 00:36:09,220
The guys have just arrived
at the emergency safe house.

382
00:36:09,220 --> 00:36:12,060
They're going to stay here
for the next few days

383
00:36:12,060 --> 00:36:15,940
until they find them a more permanent
safe house to live in.

384
00:36:15,940 --> 00:36:19,140
And they're going to now
debrief them.

385
00:36:50,660 --> 00:36:54,140
Maryam was pinning her hopes
on going abroad.

386
00:37:19,260 --> 00:37:21,460
I'm waiting to see Bilal Karimi.

387
00:37:21,460 --> 00:37:24,980
He's the deputy
government spokesperson.

388
00:37:24,980 --> 00:37:25,220
He's the deputy
And I want to put

389
00:37:25,220 --> 00:37:26,420
And I want to put

390
00:37:26,420 --> 00:37:28,940
some of the allegations
we've been hearing to him.

391
00:37:31,820 --> 00:37:33,420
(KNOCKS) Hello.

392
00:37:56,500 --> 00:38:01,300
We covered some cases of women
who were arrested and imprisoned

393
00:38:01,300 --> 00:38:01,540
We covered some cases of women
for immorality,

394
00:38:01,540 --> 00:38:02,980
for immorality,

395
00:38:02,980 --> 00:38:06,060
and their cases
were not officially registered.

396
00:38:06,060 --> 00:38:08,300
They were being held without charge.

397
00:38:27,940 --> 00:38:31,860
I've spoken to young women
who told me

398
00:38:31,860 --> 00:38:32,100
I've spoken to young women
that, when they were arrested,

399
00:38:32,100 --> 00:38:34,420
that, when they were arrested,

400
00:38:34,420 --> 00:38:34,660
Taliban officers
that, when they were arrested,

401
00:38:34,660 --> 00:38:39,420
Taliban officers
used tasers to electrocute them.

402
00:38:52,460 --> 00:38:55,860
I've also spoken
to former female prisoners

403
00:38:55,860 --> 00:38:58,260
who've said
that some prisoners were told

404
00:38:58,260 --> 00:39:01,500
if they married Talibs,
they would be released.

405
00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:01,740
if they married Talibs,
Will you investigate that?

406
00:39:01,740 --> 00:39:03,620
Will you investigate that?

407
00:39:07,820 --> 00:39:09,620
I've spoken to some families

408
00:39:09,620 --> 00:39:15,100
who've told me that Talibs are
forcefully marrying women and girls.

409
00:39:15,100 --> 00:39:16,420
Why is this happening?

410
00:39:45,620 --> 00:39:48,460
International Women's Day
was approaching.

411
00:39:48,460 --> 00:39:52,540
There were rumours women
would mark it with demonstrations.

412
00:39:54,140 --> 00:39:56,420
We met up again with Arifa,

413
00:39:56,420 --> 00:39:58,020
part of the protest group

414
00:39:58,020 --> 00:40:01,860
who demonstrated
when the Taliban first came to power.

415
00:40:23,260 --> 00:40:27,980
Two of Arifa's friends
we'd met earlier had been jailed.

416
00:40:30,860 --> 00:40:33,740
She showed me footage
of Lena and Wahida,

417
00:40:33,740 --> 00:40:37,020
who'd been forced
to make public confessions

418
00:40:37,020 --> 00:40:40,740
that they'd been paid
by foreign governments.

419
00:41:23,140 --> 00:41:25,660
International Women's Day.

420
00:41:25,660 --> 00:41:28,820
The Taliban set up extra checkpoints
across Kabul.

421
00:41:30,420 --> 00:41:33,140
The protest group
hoped to stage a demonstration,

422
00:41:33,140 --> 00:41:33,380
The protest group
but some of them were being watched.

423
00:41:33,380 --> 00:41:35,620
but some of them were being watched.

424
00:41:38,260 --> 00:41:40,500
We're on our way
to meet the protesters,

425
00:41:40,500 --> 00:41:42,300
but they've already told me

426
00:41:42,300 --> 00:41:45,100
that they're having problems
leaving their homes.

427
00:41:45,100 --> 00:41:45,340
that they're having problems
One of them left a voice message

428
00:41:45,340 --> 00:41:47,580
One of them left a voice message

429
00:41:47,580 --> 00:41:51,860
to tell me that there were two Talibs
right on her street.

430
00:41:51,860 --> 00:41:55,260
So, the Talibs
do not want women protesting today.

431
00:42:03,020 --> 00:42:05,500
It was too dangerous
to hold a street protest,

432
00:42:05,500 --> 00:42:09,740
but Arifa and the other women
gathered in private.

433
00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:15,260
(CHATTER IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

434
00:42:54,220 --> 00:42:57,740
(CHATTER IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

435
00:43:14,580 --> 00:43:17,100
Arifa took to the stage.

436
00:43:26,220 --> 00:43:30,940
She had brought with her a work
by the poet Mohammad Sharif Saiidi,

437
00:43:30,940 --> 00:43:33,780
written for the women
of Afghanistan.

438
00:44:03,340 --> 00:44:05,540
(APPLAUSE)

439
00:44:10,820 --> 00:44:12,300
A few days later

440
00:44:12,300 --> 00:44:17,500
the Taliban broke their promise
to allow girls back to school.

441
00:44:17,500 --> 00:44:22,380
But they continue to insist that
they respect the rights of women.

442
00:44:23,740 --> 00:44:28,900
The women we met said that with
every day their hopes evaporate...

443
00:44:29,860 --> 00:44:32,540
..and their lives diminish.

444
00:44:58,940 --> 00:45:00,940
Captions by Red Bee Media

445
00:45:00,940 --> 00:45:03,140
Copyright
Australian Broadcasting Corporation