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Film, Video Afghan Women's Stories: the Problematics of Cover

Event video

About this Item

Title

  • Afghan Women's Stories: the Problematics of Cover

Summary

  • Afghan women in burkas have become iconic representations of women's oppression in western media, but this representation is contested in various ways by Afghan women and men. The most common observation by Afghan women activists is that we westerners should get over it, that the burka, hot, uncomfortable and inconvenient as it is, is certainly not their most pressing problem. It has even proved useful at times as an enabling device to preserve women's mobility and anonymity under circumstances of surveillance or constraint. Westerners have their own preoccupations with visual access and its meanings, reflective of our ideas about bodily privacy and self-determination. This talk, illustrated with Afghan women's folktales and personal reminiscences about the use and misuse of cover, both imaginary and actual, explores how Afghan women understand and strategize around constraints on their public presence and social authority. These observations are used to reflect on certain recent mismanaged representations of Afghan women and families in global media and their repercussions for the women so represented.

Names

  • Library of Congress
  • American Folklife Center, sponsoring body

Created / Published

  • Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 2007-09-19.

Headings

  • -  Biography, History
  • -  Culture, Performing Arts
  • -  Education
  • -  Religion
  • -  Culture, Folklife
  • -  Women's History

Notes

  • -  Classification: Education.
  • -  Classification: Geography, Anthropology, Recreation.
  • -  Classification: History (General) and History of Europe.
  • -  Classification: Social Sciences.
  • -  Margaret Mills.
  • -  Recorded on 2007-09-19.
  • -  Researchers.

Medium

  • 1 online resource

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021687977

Online Format

  • video
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body American Folklife Center. Afghan Women's Stories: the Problematics of Cover. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-19, 2007. Video. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687977/.

APA citation style:

Library Of Congress & American Folklife Center, S. B. (2007) Afghan Women's Stories: the Problematics of Cover. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-19. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687977/.

MLA citation style:

Library Of Congress, and Sponsoring Body American Folklife Center. Afghan Women's Stories: the Problematics of Cover. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, -09-19, 2007. Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021687977/>.