In 2002 I went to Kabul, Afghanistan. These are a few of hastily scanned images and layouts from my work. I had received a commission to create a series of stories called Real Lives, Extraordinary Lives for UNICEF, Instead of a quick in and out photo we actually got to spend time photographing and getting to know our subjects. This was my first documentary story. Fresh from having learnt about their stringent child and women protection laws.
First we travelled to Herat and did a story on hygiene and clean water. Then it was onto Badakhshan and maternal health care and the difficulty of it being such a vast region with only one hospital. We followed an elderly midwife as she went from village to village helping women. Then we did a road trip from Kunduz to Pol-e Khomri to Mazar-e Sharif to photograph former child soldiers. In Pol-e Khomri after sitting with the local war lords we got permission to photograph the girls schools. There was a girl we knew who had dressed as a boy during the Taliban after we tracked her down we managed to spend a few days with her and her family. Watching the news. Thinking and praying for all those women and children I met and how those girls now women will have to face Taliban just like their mothers did.
AFGHANISTAN 2002
Katarina Premfors
Photographer
based in United Arab Emirates
Public Story
AFGHANISTAN 2002
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