This is Kabul
Full time coded transcript, with all interviews, voice-over and screen text included.
00:03:08 - 00:14:07
"Everyone must die one day, but to imagine that it could
happen at any time, is really devastating to the psyche."
00:14:07 - 00:24:06
"I get really sad after an attack,
but they can't make us stop working."
00:24:06 - 00:28:03
"We need to continue our activism in Afghanistan."
00:29:14 - 00:38:17
"We've filmed our everyday lives for two years
and here you'll see some of what we've filmed."
00:40:03 - 00:46:16 TITLE
Nargis, Sadaf and Sahar
present
00:48:04 - 00:56:14 TITLE
- This is Kabul
00:50:08 - 00:56:14 TITLE
Three young women, three small cameras
00:57:24 - 01:26:11 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Sadaf
00:58:21 - 01:03:07
"I'm studying drums and I'm now in my second year."
01:03:07 - 01:08:22
"When I told people that I was going to study drums,
everyone told me that it was a guy thing to do."
01:08:22 - 01:16:24
"I want to show them that it's not only
a guy thing, but that girls can study it, too."
01:16:24 - 01:26:12
"My goal is to work hard in order to make
a good life for myself and others."
01:32:21 - 01:41:10 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Sahar
Sadaf's younger sister
01:33:16 - 01:41:10
"The situation for women in Afghanistan is unacceptable
to me, so I want to be a person who contributes to a change."
01:45:22 - 02:23:02 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Nargis
01:45:24 - 01:49:22
"There are three things that we want to include in our film."
01:49:22 - 01:57:06
"What people do to have fun, and also
what they do in their spare time."
01:57:06 - 02:02:23
"What problems there are for people in Kabul and Afghanistan."
02:02:23 - 02:11:12
"The third thing is what we
Afghans do to solve these problems."
02:12:16 - 02:23:02
"We also want our film to show something other than what's usually
shown in the media and in other documentaries on Afghanistan."
02:27:12 - 02:29:06
"Don't film now."
02:31:02 - 02:34:03
"Are you filming now? Is the red light showing?"
02:34:03 - 02:36:02
"OK."
02:42:07 - 02:49:09
"The goal for us female drivers is to show that we can drive,"
02:49:09 - 02:55:06
"and in addition encourage women to
take charge of the few opportunities they have."
02:56:18 - 03:00:05
"Now we're in Darul Aman street."
03:00:05 - 03:02:07
" It's been snowing."
03:02:07 - 03:05:12
"It looks really nice."
03:05:12 - 03:07:23
"Now we're driving."
03:08:00 - 03:16:18
"This is Nabila, who's in a
singing mood. We're going for a ride."
03:17:05 - 03:21:00
"And this is me. Hi!"
03:21:08 - 03:28:12
"What are women's reactions when they see you
driving a car? When they see you in the car?"
03:28:12 - 03:32:04
"Some girls are smiling at me and waving."
03:32:04 - 03:34:23
"Other women give me ugly looks."
03:34:23 - 03:37:10
"And they ask what women are doing driving a car."
03:37:10 - 03:40:01
"Even women say that sometimes."
03:40:01 - 03:46:21
"You'll often see smiling faces. People
that are happy to see a girl driving a car."
04:38:14 - 04:40:05
"What?"
04:40:13 - 04:42:02
"Are you Afghans?"
"- Yes"
04:42:02 - 04:44:04
" Why aren't you wearing scarves?"
"- It's none of your business."
04:44:04 - 04:45:02
"It is"
04:45:02 - 04:46:24
" Who are you?"
"- I'm everything."
04:46:24 - 04:50:07
"Are you God's representative on earth? Are you a prophet?"
"- Yes, I am."
04:50:07 - 04:51:23
" I'm God's representative."
"- I'm not going to wear it."
04:51:23 - 04:55:24
"Put your scarves on! Get that camera
away before I smash it in your face."
04:55:24 - 04:57:10
"Shame on you!"
04:57:10 - 05:01:09
"Look over here. I'm not going to wear it."
"- Shame on you."
05:01:09 - 05:03:09
"Shame on you, shame on you."
"- I'm going to take it off."
05:03:09 - 05:06:19
"Shame on you, shame on you."
05:19:05 - 05:22:13
"We've now reached the main gate to the University of Kabul."
05:22:13 - 05:26:02
"This is the schoolyard of the university."
05:26:12 - 05:30:04
"That's the social and arts faculty."
05:31:16 - 05:35:15
"I love it when it drizzles."
01:05:42 - 05:43:15
"This is not a good place to be Sadaf.
There are no other girls around."
05:43:15 - 05:50:15
"No, it's not a bad place to be. It's starting to rain
more heavily. Film them if they say something."
05:45:03 - 05:57:07
" You're a pain in the ass."
"- Bye, bye."
05:59:16 - 06:03:01
" Isn't it better to go somewhere else?"
"- Yes, turn away the camera and let's go."
06:08:15 - 06:11:17
"Don't film and put it on Facebook."
06:11:17 - 06:16:02
"I won't post it on Facebook. But I'm filming you
and posting it on YouTube if you harass me again."
06:16:02 - 06:18:09
"Are you posting it on YouTube? That's good."
"- Yes."
06:18:09 - 06:23:10
"Say what you have to say. Louder than before."
"- What do you want me ro repeat?"
06:23:10 - 06:29:23
" Whatever you have to say."
"- Don't worry. It's fine, it's fine."
06:33:20 - 06:37:12
"No. You're saying that. I want him to say it."
06:37:13 - 06:39:13
"I apologize for him."
06:39:13 - 06:47:14
"Why should always another person apologize
for someone who behaves badly?"
06:47:14 - 06:50:20
"Move away from me!"
06:52:19 - 06:56:23
"Shame on you! This park isn't your private property."
06:56:23 - 07:00:21
"Don't do that to me. I'm not talking to you."
07:00:21 - 07:03:23
"Don't create any problems."
"- I'm not."
07:03:23 - 07:06:06
"Forget about it. He didn't mean to."
07:06:06 - 07:10:09
"I'm not his mother or sister that he just can make fun of."
07:20:05 - 07:24:02
"Shall I keep filming you?"
"- No, it's enough."
07:24:02 - 07:25:12
"Shall I turn it off?"
"- Yes."
07:28:19 - 07:34:06
"It's hard for all walks of life in
Afghanistan, but especially hard for women."
07:34:06 - 07:59:03 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Nargis
07:34:06 - 07:48:21
"A girl has to fight for her rights from
the day she's born until the day she dies."
07:48:21 - 07:55:09
"They are rights which she's entitled,
but she still has to fight for them."
07:55:09 - 07:59:03
"And girls have to convince people
that they actually are entitled to these rights."
08:01:13 - 08:14:02
"In July 2011 we organized a large demonstration
against street harassment. Many people showed up."
08:19:14 - 08:23:05
""We won't be quiet when it comes to street harassment.""
08:23:05 - 08:36:23 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Sahar
08:23:05 - 08:26:13
""Street harassment is illegal.""
08:26:13 - 08:31:18
"A woman who's harassed on the street gets hurt.
And it's a sin for the person who does it."
08:31:18 - 08:36:24
"In Islam they say that it's a sin to harass women,
which means that you shouldn't do it."
08:41:05 - 08:46:00
"Our campaign has begun and we've started
walking. There are many girls here."
08:46:00 - 08:49:24
"What do you feel now?"
"- It feels like dancing."
08:49:24 - 08:55:17
"We've written why you shouldn't
harass women on these pages."
09:03:14 - 09:05:04
"What's the point in all this?"
09:14:01 - 09:19:01
"Film this one, too. It's the first feminist newspaper."
09:23:21 - 09:27:06
""We won't be quiet when it comes to street harassment.""
09:28:10 - 09:32:16
"Those with high positions, who are involved in unethical
affairs, should step aside and let the youth take over."
09:32:16 - 09:39:08
"We, the youth, don't have blood on our hands. We
haven't killed anyone's father and we never will."
09:39:08 - 09:43:11
"Our "freedom": Persecution, assault and no respect for women."
09:49:08 - 09:54:18
"Many thanks to the police and everyone who joined us."
09:58:12 - 09:59:18
"Why are you filming?"
09:59:18 - 10:05:17
"I'm filming to show how much Afghan
guys can... I don't know how to say it..."
10:05:17 - 10:06:20
"What are you going to do with the film?"
10:06:21 - 10:10:18
"...how rude Afghan guys can be, saying what you're saying."
10:10:18 - 10:15:24
"What if your sister came one day and filmed in the park?"
"- I would have immediately beheaded her."
10:15:24 - 10:18:17
"You would've beheaded her?"
"- Yes, if she'd been like you."
10:18:17 - 10:20:24
"If she'd been like me, you would have beheaded her?"
"- Yes."
10:20:24 - 10:25:00
"I hope to God that you don't have any sisters.
No, we're just..."
10:25:00 - 10:28:19
"Okay, fine."
10:29:03 - 10:32:09
"This is a pepper spray."
10:32:09 - 10:40:24
"I bring it with me to defend myself
if I'm being bothered or harassed."
10:59:16 - 11:11:16
"While we were at home this morning, we heard a huge
bang. It was the sound of an attack in Pul-e-Surkh."
11:03:10 - 11:20:01 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Sahar
11:11:16 - 11:20:01
"There's no particular target in Pul-e-Surkh.
There are just ordinary people living there."
11:20:02 - 11:28:01
"It was really frightening to wake up to such a sound."
11:28:01 - 11:37:07
"There's been a lot of attacks the last couple of days. A few days
ago, there was an attack at the airport, and also one by Allah Uddin."
11:37:07 - 11:46:06
"You become very anxious when leaving the house because
you never know whether you'll return back home safely again."
11:46:06 - 11:51:14
"It's really hopeless."
11:51:20 - 11:54:16
"This is Nargis. What are you doing Nargis?"
11:54:19 - 11:57:10
"I'm going to film the streets outside."
11:57:18 - 12:01:16
"Over there is the Gulbahar Center."
12:01:16 - 12:07:06
"Official buildings and the Foreign Ministry are here."
12:07:06 - 12:08:20
"This is also where the ministers live."
12:09:00 - 12:12:03
"A wide range of new buildings are being constructed here."
12:12:03 - 12:17:05
"This is Kabul."
12:19:21 - 12:21:16
"What are you doing?"
12:21:16 - 12:33:08 SCREEN TEXT (CAPTION)
Sadaf
12:21:16 - 12:24:18
"What am I doing? I'm sleeping."
12:24:18 - 12:27:01
"Where are we going now?"
"- Down."
12:27:01 - 12:30:13
"Down where?"
"- Down to down."
12:30:13 - 12:33:08
"Where are we coming from?"
"- Above."
12:37:07 - 12:39:15
"Tell me where you are and what you're up to."
12:40:00 - 12:44:15
"The waiter arrived with our ice cream."
12:44:19 - 12:48:19
"There's a show at the school, and
some of our friends are performing."
12:48:19 - 12:52:19
"I wish them good luck and hope
that everything will turn out well."
13:10:12 - 13:13:20
"They just announced that there's
fighting in the Wazir Akbar Khan-area."
13:13:20 - 13:19:02
"Rabbani, who's one of the central
political leaders in Afghanistan..."
13:19:02 - 13:25:04
"...who was one of the leaders in the fight against the
Soviets, is killed. And no one knows what to do."
13:25:06 - 13:29:03
"The situation is very bad. I don't know
how we're going to get home."
13:29:03 - 13:34:08
"We've ordered a taxi. I hope the situation
will improve, so we can get home safely."
13:35:00 - 13:39:14
"Everyone's waiting for their taxis."
13:42:01 - 13:45:11
"How are you?"
"- Not good at all..."
13:45:11 - 13:52:00
"...because this is the second attack in two
weeks. Both of them were really terrifying."
13:52:15 - 13:57:00
"We were near the attacks at both incidents."
13:57:03 - 14:02:06
"I hope nothing will happen tomorrow,
because the fights are still happening."
14:02:06 - 14:09:01
"And Rabbani, who was one of the
mightiest war lords in Afghanistan, was assassinated."
14:09:01 - 14:13:08
"Some other known people were also killed."
14:13:08 - 14:15:24
"Others are in a coma."
14:15:24 - 14:17:24
"There's a police car over there."
14:18:00 - 14:20:23
"It's too bad that these guys are getting killed."
14:20:23 - 14:25:11
"Nobody cares."
14:31:00 - 14:34:18
"It's like death is pouring down the streets."
14:34:18 - 14:36:15
"Scary"
15:17:23 - 15:21:03
"I can go over to a classmate and film there."
15:22:05 - 15:24:20
"What are you eating?"
15:24:20 - 15:27:02
"What do they call this?"
"- Donuts."
15:27:02 - 15:29:24
"Chocolate donuts."
15:30:09 - 15:34:02
"Do you want to take over the camera for a while?"
15:37:05 - 15:40:07
"Film, film!"
15:44:07 - 15:47:08
"Here's a minibus."
15:47:08 - 15:52:01
"Two men are fighting."
15:55:04 - 15:59:17
"They're fighting."
16:00:23 - 16:03:19
"Let go! Let go!"
16:03:19 - 16:07:10
"What would you have done if I wasn't an old man? Huh?"
16:14:15 - 16:23:20
"Despite all the problems in Afghanistan,
we try to enjoy the times we are together."
16:23:20 - 16:28:00
"We're trying to have fun together."
16:28:00 - 16:33:15
"Unfortunately, there's always someone
who wants to take that joy from us."
16:34:24 - 16:36:22
"Rock 'n' roll."
16:36:22 - 16:44:23
"We're starting a rock band. I'll be the drummer. She and
Sahar are going to play the guitar, and you can be our singer."
16:45:24 - 16:53:23
"We're going to make a schedule
now. Our first practice is next Saturday."
16:53:23 - 17:08:19
"We'll then play and sing together. We're really happy now."
17:08:19 - 17:11:18
"You guys say something about our meeting today as well."
17:11:18 - 17:16:21
"I'm happy, happy, happy."
17:16:21 - 17:19:17
"Watch where you're walking."
17:19:17 - 17:24:01
"What did you say?"
17:24:01 - 17:32:05
"Sadaf says she'll beat him up if he stops the car."
"- She wants us to help her with that?"
17:36:03 - 17:38:19
"Drive, idiot! Asshole!"
17:38:19 - 17:43:06
"She's right, idiot! What do you want?"
17:43:06 - 17:48:09
"Throw a rock on his car! Mother fucker!"
17:49:03 - 17:53:01
"Ill-mannered boys! They don't let girls walk freely in the streets."
17:53:01 - 18:00:09
"Thanks, brother."
18:15:06 - 18:22:01
"Are you scared, Farzana?"
18:22:18 - 18:28:05
"This is our country. They can't stand seeing girls being happy."
18:39:17 - 18:45:14
"We, in the Hadia organization, have an event today
called "Light a candle for Mah Gul"."
18:45:14 - 18:56:18
"The event is supporting women who have been
subject to violence, rape and murder this past year."
18:56:24 - 18:58:16
"They cut off her head."
18:58:17 - 19:04:20
"Today, we all gather in the Shar-e Naw Park,
to say that it's an atrocity."
19:04:20 - 19:08:00
"And to question the government about
why they don't do anything about this."
19:08:00 - 19:12:12
"Nowadays it's really easy to cut off the head of a woman."
19:12:12 - 19:14:22
"It's really easy to hang them and to kill them."
19:14:22 - 19:21:24
"Violence has become so common that people look at
it as something natural and commonplace."
19:21:24 - 19:24:04
"This must change."
19:24:11 - 19:29:04
"A woman was hung in Takhar a few days ago..."
19:29:04 - 19:33:11
"...over a trivial disagreement."
19:33:12 - 19:38:15
"The government must intervene in these cases."
19:38:15 - 19:44:08
"Ask why they did it. But they're
completely silent and they don't say anything."
19:44:08 - 19:54:18
"I believe that no one is allowed to decide over another person."
19:54:18 - 19:58:01
"Why do we have laws?"
19:58:02 - 20:06:07
"When a person commits a crime, he shall be judged by the law."
"- If you aren't judged by the law, why do we have laws?"
20:06:07 - 20:13:18
"A person kills someone and gets to decide his own punishment.
This is why you easily can cut the nose off of anyone."
20:13:18 - 20:14:22
"Someone has to do something."
20:14:22 - 20:20:09
"People have to raise their voices, so that the government pays
attention and so people see that someone supports these women."
20:20:09 - 20:22:22
"If not, they'll come and kill us tomorrow as well."
20:22:22 - 20:30:17
"You can get shot in the street
without any consequences for the shooter."
20:30:17 - 20:37:22
"I saw a documentary last night
about women fighting for their rights."
20:37:22 - 20:42:07
"For the right to vote, equality, equal pay, etc."
20:42:07 - 20:45:02
"Every revolution has its challenges."
20:45:02 - 20:58:07
"These were the first women
who fought for their rights in 1905."
20:58:07 - 21:07:04
"People didn't support them, no one saw it as a
good thing, and the media made fun of them."
21:07:04 - 21:13:07
"If they were to make something funny, they
filmed women who fought for their rights."
21:13:07 - 21:21:09
"The women didn't loose their courage, but continued fighting."
21:22:02 - 21:25:04
"If we don't say anything, no one else will do it either."
21:25:12 - 21:29:17
"We've arrived and Ferdows and Zobaida are already here."
21:29:17 - 21:31:15
"Let's go and see what happens."
21:45:07 - 21:49:22
"We're here today to light candles and to remember
Mah Gul and all the other women who have been killed."
21:50:02 - 21:54:18
"Women and men have to work
together, for us to have a peaceful country."
21:54:18 - 22:01:11
"Instead of being violent against women and killing
them, we have to encourage them to go to school."
22:01:11 - 22:05:04
"And to become useful people for the society."
22:05:09 - 22:10:10
"We'll light our candles now and place them over there."
22:38:11 - 22:39:13
"Is the event over?"
22:39:13 - 22:41:22
"Are we going home now?
- It's over. It was really great."
22:41:22 - 22:50:23
"There were more people from the park than our
friends, but they supported us and they learned something."
22:54:09 - 23:02:20
""At night I say God is great. I'm dreaming.""
23:02:20 - 23:07:10
""I'm dreaming that I'm walking towards fate.""
23:08:06 - 23:11:05
""I'm dreaming that I'm walking towards fate.""
23:11:05 - 23:14:12
"They hit the car because there are four girls in it."
23:14:12 - 23:17:17
"They never learn."
23:18:19 - 23:21:19
""The past is past, the past is past.""
23:22:18 - 23:28:06
""I'm dreaming that I'm walking towards fate.""
23:33:16 - 23:40:17
"There's just been an attack in
Shash Darak and people are again very scared."
23:40:17 - 23:49:16
"Some friends of mine works there.
I was very afraid and upset for them."
23:49:16 - 23:56:24
"There's been attacks in Kabul once
a week the past two or three weeks."
23:56:24 - 24:01:16
"They've all been near us."
24:04:07 - 24:10:23
"Who knows whether we'll be the next victims of an attack."
24:10:23 - 24:16:23
"It's unbearable to think that you might
get killed at any day and at any moment."