Behind The Breadwinner: The Struggles Afghan Women Faced

Film Director Nora Twomey released The Breadwinner in 2017 to spread awareness about the attack on Afghan women's rights and how wars can cause division and devastation.

The film takes place in Afghanistan in 2001, during real-life events, when a violent Islamic group, the Taliban, rose to power and enforced strict, harsh Islamic rules over the country that severely restricted women's rights from 1996 to 2001 (and still continue today).

Women were not allowed to walk freely outside their homes without being fully covered and accompanied by a male relative. Those who violated the rules or dress code could be beaten, stoned, imprisoned, tortured, or even killed.

The story follows Parvana, the 11-year-old main character, who lives with her family. After her father is imprisoned, she disguises herself as a boy to provide for her family.

After a long war in Afghanistan, Former President Joe Biden ordered the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2021. Following the withdrawal, the Taliban regained control of the country and reinstated many of their old policies to restrict personal freedoms and human rights, particularly for women.

Even so, Afghanistan passed additional restrictions last year that forbids women to speak in public spaces and requires the removal of windows from their homes.

In a 2017 Hollywood interview, Twomey warned that we are living in a time when cultures are being torn apart and silenced, saying, “We’re in a time when we are looking to pull cultures apart and tell them they don’t have the right to tell their stories, which is the opposite of what we should be doing.”