Four years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, Afghan women are using art as a means of expression and resistance. The article profiles artist Alina Gawhary, who fled to study art in Belfast, and highlights the work of the UK-based NGO Turquoise Mountain, which collaborates with women carpet weavers in Bamiyan. Afghan-British artist Maryam Omar collected poetry from illiterate weavers and designed watercolor patterns that were woven into carpets, displayed in the selling exhibition "Weaving Poems" at Sotheby's in London. The exhibition foregrounds the women's creative voices and returns profits to the weavers.
This matters because it showcases how Afghan women, despite severe restrictions under the Taliban—including bans on education, music, and public life—have maintained agency and creativity. The carpets represent a radical departure from traditional male-dominated craft, centering women's authorship and contemporary artistic concerns. The article underscores the resilience of Afghan women and the role of art in preserving identity and generating economic independence under oppressive conditions.