Parwana Book Exhibition at Lancaster House in London

I wanted to alert everyone to an interesting book produced by Redux Pictures photographer Katherine Kiviat and journalist Scott Heidler. The two-year book project, Parwana, documents the stories of women in Afghanistan who areacting as "agents of change" there. It also documents the changing roles of women in the society. The book, which has also been translated in Dari and Pashtu, has been distributed to girls schools across Afghanistan. Photographs and interviews from the book are also currently on exhibit at the Afghan Donor’s Conference in London, althought Kiviat and Heidler say it is difficult to get in to see them during the actual conference due to security concerns. I have posted a press release of the event below.

---------------

PORTRAITS AND INTERVIEWS FROM PARWANA BOOK ON DISPLAY AT DONOR CONFERENCE IN LONDON

Book Documents Afghan Women Making Change   Conference to be attended by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

LONDON (January 29, 2006) – An exhibition of images and interviews from the Parwana book will be on display during the Afghan Donor’s Conference at the Lancaster House in London.  The conference will be held on January 31 and February 1, 2006.

The Project Five thousand copies of the book Parwana, in both Dari and Pashtu languages, have been distributed to universities, girl’s high schools, women’s centers and libraries in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.

The hardcover books will last for generations, have been worked into lesson plans and are part of permanent library collections.

The Book Like a butterfly, or “parwana,” just out of her cocoon, the women of Afghanistan are in the midst of a transformation.

Even though most women in Afghanistan are still wearing burkas, there is a significant change underway as they take on new roles to help rebuild their country – physically, politically, and culturally.

Through an intimate image and conversation with 39 Afghan women and girls – the book, in the subject’s words, details how each of these brave women are affecting change and becoming active participants in their country for the first time in over a decade.

The book was written, produced and photographed by photographer Katherine Kiviat and journalist Scott Heidler.

The project was funded by the Office of Transition Initiatives of U.S. Agency for International Development, the US Embassy in Kabul and Eastman Kodak, USA.