Kiana Hayeri
Single Mothers of Afghanistan
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-12 | For the past decade, widows have converged here and built by hand their mud hovels on a slope above a cemetery in an eastern neighbourhood of Kabul. It is known as Tapaye Zanabad — the hill that women built. Hundreds of widows came and they now number perhaps more than several thousands on the hill and its surroundings. The first squatter homes have since morphed into a crowded community that has a private drinking water supply and spotty electricity. Most of the women have not been able to escape from wretched poverty, but they have preserved something far more unusual in a country dominated by men.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2015-04-12 | The young cast on set at work behind the scenes of "Shereen's Law". "Shereen's Law", a disputed TV series which was due to be aired in early 2016 on Afghan TV, tells the story of a 36-year-old single mom who brings up three children on her own while forging a career as a clerk at a court in Kabul. While the main character, Shereen, fights corruption, harassment, and rape, decision makers at MOBY Group (the producing company) decided that the story is too controversial and may have back lashes. The production was suspended in summer 2015 and most of the key people including the director and screenwriter were dismissed.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-09 | Mina (38) was pregnant with her 5th child, when she was diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis, and became paralyzed waist down at the time of giving birth. The child didn't survive. Her husband kicked her and her children out of the house and re-married. Mina had to pull her oldest daughter out of school, so she can assist her. Mina survived several
attempted suicide. “i'm too young, i'm not gonna die any time soon”
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-10 | The kids put the photo of their father back on the wall. Their memories of him are blurred and is only shaped by the only photo that exist from him. Shakar (29) lost her husband to a suicide attack while he was on his way to work. Her youngest was only 3 months old when they brought her husband, better to say pieces of his body, home. Shakir works as a cleaner but had to pull her oldest daughter out of school so she can afford providing her children with their basic needs. The family belong to Ismaeili shia minority fear from the return of Taliban. “if talib comes back, how am I going to feed my children”
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-02 | Maryam (46) dazes out after lunch. He only son, 26 year old now, plays with his daughter after he came home from university. Maryam's engagement to her future-husband only lasted 10 days before her husband and her brother drove over a mine and got killed. In those short 10 days, 19-year-old Maryam had become pregnant. She was tortured by her in-laws to marry one of her brother-in-laws but she refused to and decided to remain single and raise her only son alone. At some point, out of despair, Maryam left her child at an orphanage. Up until six months ago, before the funding ran out and she lost her job, she worked as a midwife in remote districts of Herat.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-08-26 | An old photo of Aziza and her late husband from 70s. Aziza lost her husband to cancer in 2006 and brought up her 4 children on her own with the support of her brother-in-law, a prominent Afghan-Australian musician. She was never forced to remarry but temporarily lived with her brother-in-law's family in the same apartment, which she recalls to be the most difficult time. She works at the National TV and Radio of Afghanistan.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-10 | Shakar's oldest daughter rubs the temple of her mom to ease and relieve the pain of her migraine. Shakar (29) lost her husband to a suicide attack while he was on his way to work. Her youngest was only 3 months old when they brought her husband, better to say pieces of his body, home. Shakir works as a cleaner but had to pull her oldest daughter out of school so she can afford providing her children with their basic needs. The family belong to Ismaeili shia minority fear from the return of Taliban. “if talib comes back, how am I going to feed my children”
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-11 | Malika (28) comfort her son after a fight broke out among them.
Malika was 14 when she was married off in Pakistan. She was 8 months pregnant when her husband and mother-in-law were murdered in front of her eyes and moment before she fainted. Malika and her 5 children live in a small room in Wazir Abad neighbourhood and survive on her monthly income of 800 afs ($12) from washing clothes for wealthy afghans. When asked what's the most difficult part about being a single mom, she replied: "Watching my kids go to bed hungry"
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-07 | Reihana (28), tired and frustrated, slapped her son to get hime quiet. She was 14 when she was sold by her father to a man twice her age. She was then taken away to Khost, where Wardaki man came from, physically and sexually abused until she ran away with her 5 children, 5 to 11 years old. She now studies at a university part time word a political science degree and work full time at the anti-narco ministry.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-08 | Reihana (28) comforts her son after she punished him put of despair. She
was 14 when she was sold by her father to a man twice her age. She was then taken away to Khost, where Wardaki man came from, physically and sexually abused until she ran away with her 5 children, 5 to 11 years old. She now studies at a university part time word a political science degree and work full time at the anti-narco ministry.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-10 | Shakar (29) lost her husband to a suicide attack while he was on his way to work. Her youngest was only 3 months old when they brought her husband, better to say pieces of his body, home. Shakir works as a cleaner but had to pull her oldest daughter out of school so she can afford providing her children with their basic needs. The family belong to Ismaeili shia minority fear from the return of Taliban. “if talib comes back, how am I going to feed my children”
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-08 | Reihana (28)
was 14 when she was sold by her father to a man twice her age. She was then taken away to Khost, where Wardaki man came from, physically and sexually abused until she ran away with her 5 children, 5 to 11 years old. She now studies at a university part time word a political science degree and work full time at the anti-narco ministry.
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-04 | Mina (27) in purple headscarf was 7 months pregnant when she was arrested and convicted with moral crimes. Born, raised and married off in Iran, she was kicked out of her house when her husband decided to marry another girl. Unable to prove her legal status, she was picked up by the Iranian police and deported back to Afghanistan same day, a country where she had never played a foot on. Being homeless and having no support, she starts dating a married man and gets pregnant. Her biggest fear is the future and how is she going survive and raise a child on her own with no husband and family member around.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-08 | Reihana help the kids to clean up and put on clean clothes on her only day off, on friday. She was 14 when she was sold by her father to a man twice her age. She was then taken away to Khost, where Wardaki man came from, physically and sexually abused until she ran away with her 5 children, 5 to 11 years old. She now studies at a university part time word a political science degree and work full time at the anti-narco ministry.
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-02 | A woman walks to the entrance Habib al-Mustafa township with one of the apartment blocks seen behind her. Habib al-Mustafa is a all-female guarded settlement set up by an NGO 10 km outside of Herat City and hosts over 130 families without male guardian. No men, other than relatives of these women are allowed inside.
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-04 | There are currently 57 children living with their mothers inside the female ward of Herat Prison. These mothers are often abandoned or disowned by their families for the crimes they may or may have not committed. The collective fear is the unknown world outside, where the women are forced to raise their child alone after their sentence is finished. The prison has a kindergarten and a small playground for the kids.
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-04 | Women line up at the gate, to receive aids and baby products that is being distributed by an international NGO. There are currently 57 children living with their mothers inside the female ward of Herat Prison. These mothers are often abandoned or disowned by their families for the crimes they may or may have not committed. The collective fear is the unknown world outside, where the women are forced to raise their child alone after their sentence is finished. The prison has a kindergarten and a small playground for the kids.
HERAT, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-04 | Wahida (20), who chose not to reveal her face, sits behind the curtain on her bed inside the female ward of Herat Prison. She was arrested when she was 7 months pregnant, convicted for helping her sister-in-law to murder her husband. Her daughter, Mahtab (10-month-old) was born inside the prison. Her biggest fear is the future when her sentence is over and she has to face the outside world on her own.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-08 | Reihana's youngest son walks into the hallway.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN | 2016-09-08 | Reihana in between her teenage-like giggles.
Project Description
There is no word for “single mother” in Pashto or Dari, the two major languages spoken throughout Afghanistan, yet after four decades of conflict – from the Soviet invasion to the war on terror – millions of women in Afghanistan are raising children on their own. These women are one of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable populations. Some have had to flee abusive spouses, others have lost their husbands in combat or terrorist attacks and some became pregnant before marriage and have been charged with “moral crimes”. Widows in particular are seen as morally suspect or symbols of bad luck; In a country where few women are literate or have ever worked outside the home, many widows are forced into remarriage, frequently to a brother of their late husband, and those who choose to remarry outside the family risk losing custody of their children.
This is the tale of the single mothers of Afghanistan told through photographs, a humane story picturing another side of life in a war-torn country.
Biography
Kiana Hayeri grew up in Tehran, Iran, and migrated to Toronto while she was still a teenager. Faced with the challenges of adapting to a new environment, she took up photography as a way of bridging the gap in language and culture. After an incident in her personal life, while still at university, she packed her life in a backpack and started a nomadic existence in search of a place that could be called home. She has worked internationally but remained focused on stories that illuminate her background. Her self-initiated and self-funded projects often explore complex topics such as migration, adolescence and sexuality. She is currently working on a long-term multi-phase project documenting the lives of youth and their culture in societies dealing with oppression or conflict.
She is currently based out of Kabul, Afghanistan, covering the region.
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[…] NextGRAND PRIZE – KIANA […]
[…] Kiana Hayeri primește acest IAFOR Documentary Photography Award, bine meritat, pentru proiectul său ”Single Mothers of Afghanistan”, care se concentrează pe mamele singure din Afganistan, povestite prin fotografii, o poveste umană reprezentând o altă parte a vieții într-o țară sfâșiată de război. […]
[…] fotoğrafları, kendisine Uluslararası Akademik Forum’un bu yılın başlarında belgesel fotoğraf alanında büyük ödülü kazandı . Ancak, yalnız annelerin çoğunun yayınlanmış fotoğraflarını henüz görmediklerini […]
[…] in recognition of her outstanding work. She receives this well-deserved award for her project Single Mothers of Afghanistan, which focuses on the single mothers of Afghanistan told through photographs, a humane story […]
[…] Image by Kiana Hayeri | 2017 Grand Prize Winner […]
[…] Image from the series "Single Mothers of Afghanistan" by Kiana Hayeri, 2017 Grand Prize Winner […]
[…] Image by Kiana Hayeri | 2017 Grand Prize Winner […]
[…] Image by Kiana Hayeri | 2017 Grand Prize Winner […]