Looking at how a regime or ruler treats women can be fundamental to understanding the roots and priorities of that ruler or the regime, and for that, it’s unsurprising that in conservative regimes where there is an attempt to define and promote a patriarchal order, outspoken women are considered a threat most of the time. This is a hard reality that is most of the time overlooked except perhaps during times of acute humanitarian crises like the one that encompasses more than half the population of Afghanistan today in Sahra Mani’s Gentle and painful Canada-directed dramatic exploration of Present day Afghanistan, Bread & Roses, which was executive produced by Jennifer Lawrence. Or more accurately, modern-day Afghan women under the Taliban regime, which took control of the nation during the downfall of Kabul after the US military left Afghanistan in an unprofessional and brutal manner during the summer of 2021.
In her documentary, Mani has sought to amplify the voice of Afghan women who were greatly impacted by the events that transpired in Afghanistan, we have previously witnessed how bereaving the situation must have been for those women who had to suffer years of war just to achieve basic rights such as independence, education, and employment but were then stripped off those rights all over again. The Taliban banned schools from re-opening, and imposed unreasonable limitations on how women could behave or present themselves in public which were of course impossible to follow. Rather than aiding her, Mani aims to shed light on millions of women whose stories have gone unheard after the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan. Mani further adds how the problems faced by women were completely ignored while the world was focused on covering why the Taliban came to power.
One of those women is Zahra, an ardent activist, a promising bride to be married to her love, and a practiced dentist, who is forced to lead an underground resistance and organize protests with other activists when the Taliban returns to power. The second participant is government employee Sharifa who once had a flourishing career but has now been engulfed by the four walls and restrictions of her life. The third woman is Taranom, an activist in self-imposed exile in Pakistan who contributes a phrase to the film that will be long remembered: “Let us not forget that there was a time when the women of Afghanistan could be treated in such a manner and that time not so long ago.”
In one way the input of everyone who is in front of the camera or behind it very engages with and adds to the historical aim that Taranom sets out the subjects are constantly recording with their phones the brutality, injustice, and suffering that women’s rights not only on the streets in the form of “Work, bread, and education” the protesters shouts, but also in the efforts women and girls are making within four walls as they revolt against the cruelty that rather has been served out to them.
The truth is that ‘Bread Roses’ is basically based on the audio and videos that mani has been sent by the three females and other people on land. The footage in this film allows for an unrivaled perspective of the circumstances through the emphasis on the audience’s participation, while providing a somewhat disordered story and structure which the co-editors, Haideh Safiyari and Maria Mavati, try their best to fashion and drive. The good news is, that they mostly succeed in their near-impossible task of showing reality maxed out on pain tolerance, in their shattering task. More often than not, the rhythm of the film would drop and be bad as it seemed they depict momentum captured by the moments we do see. Those moments certainly include protests, yes. But also everyday ins and outs of dreams, a beautiful wedding celebration, and conversations that invoked resilience and warmth around sisterhood as a nurturing dimension among women.
Two of the most poignant and powerful scenes of surely, “Bread & Roses” are located at the beginning and at the end. The first is horrifying as we see the ominous shots of Taliban, almost in anguish being hit by shots, marching into Kabul and creating utter terror over what seems to be utter chaos. However in the latter, irony oxygenates the situation as we hear from a group of girls, little older than tweenage, surely tongue in cheek, appealing to the future that is owed to them although it runs counter to the archaic systems indoctrinated by those whose lauds parades. Mani nevertheless rescues the viewer from the agony of the scene, for them through that powerful scene, Mani reminds the viewer of the fact that patriarchy ensures what is real for them with the noise made by young minds hungry for freedom, justice, and education.
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