Posts filed under ‘debate’
Unsilence! Writers & Society: A Public Lecture by Shailja Patel, May 22 2013 @ Goethe Institut
Shailja Patel an acclaimed US-Based Kenyan Poet and Human Rights Activist
Introduction by Khainga O’Okwemba (President, PEN Kenya)
Panel: Prof Chris Wanjala,Prof Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui,Dr Tom Odhiambo,Dr Waveney Olembo,Eliphas Nyamogo,Tony Mochama.
Date: Thursday May 23, 2013
Venue: Goethe-Institut-Nairobi
Time: 5:00pm
Entry: Free
Shailja Patel at TED
This event is organized by PEN Kenya Centre and supported by the Goethe-Institut.
Naipolitans: Conversations touching on Urbane Space, May 10 2013 @ Alliance
An Olympian’s Solution: From the Unwalkable Walking City and other Paradoxes, to a Healthier and Safer Nairobi
Date & Time: Friday May 10, 2013, 6.00-8.00pm (event starts 6.30pm sharp)
Venue: 3rd Floor, Alliance Française
This month’s conversation will be throwing a spotlight on the potential contribution of Nairobi residents to create healthier and safer urban spaces.
Healthier Cities
Douglas Wakiihuri will share his experiences as an Olympian, retired competitive runner and current road runner. He will speak to the challenges that the ever evolving urban environment impose on his running activities and the lifestyles of urban residents. Douglas runs the Sotokoto Marathon, mentors a group of young runners (children) in Kibera and encourages city dwellers to lead active lives. Herein lies the challenge, he’s discovered; it’s neither “healthy” nor safe to lead an active life in the city.
Paradoxes exist from the lack of appropriate urban infrastructure (e.g. encouraging walking in an unwalkable city) and facilities (Kenya produces elite runners in spite of the lack of locally accessible training facilities as Wakiihuri points out) to the lack of green spaces. Nairobi’s setup tends to encourage a sedentary or vehicle dependent lifestyle.
Safer Cities
Safety, as tragically revealed during the recent events at the Boston Marathon, is also key. In addition to personal safety which is hits closer to home, pedestrian safety, air quality and easily accessible paths are all legitimate concerns for the would be walker, jogger or runner. To that end, Juma Assiago from UN Habitat’s Safer Cities program will engage participants in an exchange about the development of safety measures at city level.
For more info visit: http://naipolitans.tumblr.com/
Book Presentation & Interview: And Then Life Happens by Dr. Auma Obama, May 11 2013 @ Paa ya Paa
Date: May 11, 2013
Venue: Paa ya Paa Art Centre
Time: 3.30 pm
Guest: Author Dr. Auma Obama [reading excerpts of her book] followed by screening of The Education of Auma Obama in the presence of the film director Branwen Okpako
Ten Cities Talk & Ten Cities Special, Apr. 30 2013 @ Goethe Institut
Date: April 30, 2013
Venue: Goethe Institut
Time
6 pm TEN CITIES talk with writers/researchers from ten cities
8 pm TEN CITIES Special Concert with Lukas Ligeti and more
Entrance: Free
More information
Conversation with Vukasin Petrovic of Freedom House & Otpor! Apr. 24 2013 @ Pawa254 Hub
Date: April 24, 2013
Venue: Pawa 254 Hub
Time: 5-7:30 pm
Vukasin Petrovic is director of programs for sub-Saharan Africa, the largest and most wide-ranging regional portfolio at Freedom House, an independent watchdog organisation “dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world.” He oversees cutting-edge programs that focus on voter and civic mobilization, accountability and good governance, support to human rights defenders, and the professionalisation of civil society.
Mr. Petrovic was a prominent student leader in Belgrade, Serbia, during the 1990s. He was a founding member of Otpor! (English: Resistance!), a civic youth movement in Serbia employing nonviolent struggle against the regime of Slobodan Milošević. Otpor! successfully overthrew the dictator in 2000. These efforts were profiled in “How to Start a Revolution”, an independent film that documents nonviolent resistance movements and Dr. Gene Sharp.
Literature Forum: Amka Space – Guest Muthoni Likimani, Apr. 27 2013 @ Goethe-Institut Library
Date & Time: Saturday, 27th April 2013, 10.00 – 1 pm
Venue: Goethe-Institut Library
Entry: Free
The Literature Forum brings together upcoming women writers and literary critics to share and discuss stories, poems and current literary trends with the aim of enhancing their creativity. The forum provides a space to listen to the voices of established and budding female writers – voices of women with a passion for literary adventure.
AMKA and the Goethe-Institut organise the monthly readings in the library of the Goethe-Institut every last Saturday of the month.
Participation in the forum is open to both men and women.
During this month’s session, the veteran writer, journalist and publisher, Muthoni Likimani, will be the guest-speaker.
Public Reading: The Cello Player, Apr. 25 2013 @ Goethe-Institut Library
Date & Time: Thursday, 25th April 2013, 6.00 p.m.
Venue: Goethe-Institut Library
Entry: Free
The narrator of this witty, ironic exquisitely told tale of love and loss is a middle-aged German composer who writes avant-garde music, but makes a living producing jingles for TV. When Judith, an ambitious young cello player from Budapest (whose mother was once the composer’s lover and who may or may not be his daughter), shows up on his doorstep, he agrees to take her in while she studies at the conservatory in Munich. Judith’s presence evokes memories of a far different time, when Eastern Europe was a world away and when life was about art. As our protagonist sets out for the composer’s house in Southern France, where he will finish his opera and she will master her instrument, it gradually becomes clear that this young woman is playing more than the cello.
Excerpts from the novel will be read in English and German by Pete Openda and Peter Schreiber.
Dance Performance: Lamhe – Moments, Apr. 20 & 21 2013 @ Oshwal Centre Auditorium
Over the years Kaminis School of dancing has put up high standard dance shows and they have always been a hit with the Nairobi audience.
Once more it is putting up the show LAMHE meaning moments at OSHWAL CENTRE AUDITORIUM ON THE 20TH AND 21ST OF APRIL.
The show is based on the music of the Bollywood classics of 2000, which are LAMHE , LAGAAN AND DEVDAS.
90 senior girls from the class have participated in the production. It is a beautiful blend of semi classical and classic Bollywood numbers which combine art and entertainment.
LAGAAN which is a lavish ,rousing entertainment in the old fashioned tradition, is directed by Ashutosh Gowanker. It is a tale of an Indian village beset by draught .Without a drop of rain , the villagers urge the
almighty to pour water from the heavens for them to survive , based on these we have taken the songs , ghanana and o mitwa .Radha kaise na jale has been added from the same movie done in a traditional style,
LAMHE; is the story of moments ;moments of passion , moments of ecstasy, which we show through songs like megha re megha and morni baga ma bole.,
DEVDAS; THE 2002 BLOCKBUSTER, A SANJAY LEELA BHANSALIS FILM.
The tale of 2 soul mates whose love is thwarted by Indias rigid class structure. The saga of a man called Devdas who loved, loved and just loved, his love for PARO -his lovely childhood playmate and as
youth beckoned , the love intensified, but fate created the wall of separation between them. Which completely shattered Devdas . He left behind a testimony of true love that was pure, chaste and undemanding.
Based on that concept, all the songs of Devdas are rich in lyrics and music. We have taken 5 numbers from this movie , summing up with Dola Music for this movie is by Ismail Darbar . Rarely have we seen an album where all the songs are perfectly sung
Discourse: Experiencing Nairobi across 12 Neighborhoods, Apr. 12 2013 @ Alliance Francaise
Date: Friday April 12, 2013
Venue: 3rd Floor, Alliance Française, Utalii Lane
Time: 6-8 pm (event starts 6.30pm sharp)
RSVP: naipolitans@gmail.com
What makes Nairobi, Nairobi? This question will be the focus of this month’s conversation as Joy Mboya and Judy Ogana of the GoDown Arts Centre tell us about the Centre’s Nairobi Project which takes the question of identity and belonging in the city to the neighbourhood level.
The project will support the 12 neighbourhood zones of Nairobi explore questions such as: Who are we at a neighborhood level? What do we care about? And what elements make my neighborhood feel like a community? Collectively, these neighbourhoods will be responding to the question “Nai ni Who?”
Come hear more about this project and take part in a conversation that delves into the question of what makes up Nairobi’s identity and how best to showcase these elements.
In what zone is your neighbourhood?
Zone 1: Central Business District
Zone 2: GoDown, Railway, Nairobi West, South B/C, Mukuru
Zone 3: Kamkunji, Shauri Moyo, Kaloleni, Ofafa Jericho
Zone 4: Buruburu, Kariobangi South, Umoja, Tena, Doonholm
Zone 5: Pumwani, Eastleigh, Pangani, Kariakor, Ziwani, Starehe
Zone 6: Mathare, Koch, Dandora, Kariobangi North, Babadogo
Zone 7: Muthaiga, Karura Forest, Gigiri
Zone 8: Ngara, Parklands
Zone 9: Lavington, Kileleshwa, Spring Valley, Kawangware-Kangemi, Dago-Junction
Zone 10: Kilimani, Upper Hill, Ngumo, Golf Course
Zone 11: Kibera, Ngei, Kenyatta Market, Dam
Zone 12: Karen, Lang’ata, Nairobi National Park
Continuities & Change: Social, Political & Economic Dynamics in Somalia since 1991, Apr. 19 2013 @ BIEA
On 19 April, the Nairobi Forum will host the launch of a special Somalia edition of the Journal of Eastern African Studies. Speakers will include Markus Hoehne of the Max Planck Institute, Jutta Bakonyi of the University of Durham, and Jason Mosley, editor of the JEAS.
The seminar will take place at the British Institute in Eastern Africa from 1-4 pm.
Contact: forum@riftvalley.net or check the RVI website for updates.
Nuruddin Farah in Conversation, Apr. 18 2013 @ Louis Leakey Auditorium – National Museum
The Nairobi Forum, in partnership with Kwani Trust, will be hosting an evening with renowned Somali author Nuruddin Farah on 18th April.
Date: April 18, 2013
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium, Nairobi National Museum
Time: 6.30 – 8.30 pm
Free entrance by prior registration only. Register here
Nuruddin is winner of the Neustadt International Prize for literature and the Lettre Ulysses Award, and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. His body of work includes two trilogies, Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship (1980) and Blood in the Sun (1986). His most recent novel, Crossbones, was published in 2011.
Nuruddin will be in conversation with Binyavanga Wainaina, the Founding Editor of Kwani Trust and author of the acclaimed memoir One Day I Will Write About This Place.
Naipolitans v8: Experiencing Nairobi across 12 Neighborhoods, Mar. 8 2013 @ Alliance Francaise
Date: March 8, 2013,
Venue: 3rd Floor, Alliance Française, Utalii Lane
Time: 6-8 pm (event starts 6.30pm sharp)
What makes Nairobi, Nairobi?
This question will be the focus of this month’s conversation as Joy Mboya and Judy Ogana of the GoDown Arts Centre tell us about the Centre’s Nairobi Project which takes the question of identity and belonging in the city to the neighbourhood level.
The Project will support the 12 neighbourhood zones of Nairobi explore questions such as:
+ Who are we at a neighbourhood level?
+ What do we care about?
+ And what elements make my neighbourhood feel like a community?
Collectively, these neighbourhoods will be responding to the question “Nai ni Who?”
Come hear more about this project and take part in a conversation that delves into the question of what makes up Nairobi’s identity and how best to showcase these elements.
In what zone is your neighbourhood?
Zone 1: Central Business District
Zone 2: GoDown, Railway, Nairobi West, South B/C, Mukuru
Zone 3: Kamkunji, Shauri Moyo, Kaloleni, Ofafa Jericho
Zone 4: Buruburu, Kariobangi South, Umoja, Tena, Doonholm
Zone 5: Pumwani, Eastleigh, Pangani, Kariakor, Ziwani, Starehe
Zone 6: Mathare, Koch, Dandora, Kariobangi North, Babadogo
Zone 7: Muthaiga, Karura Forest, Gigiri
Zone 8: Ngara, Parklands
Zone 9: Lavington, Kileleshwa, Spring Valley, Kawangware-Kangemi, Dago-Junction
Zone 10: Kilimani, Upper Hill, Ngumo, Golf Course
Zone 11: Kibera, Ngei, Kenyatta Market, Dam
Zone 12: Karen, Lang’ata, Nairobi National Park
Find more info here
Lecture: Climate Change During the Last Ice Age, Feb. 27 2013 @ National Museum
Reservations: 0724 255 299, 2339158 or info@kenyamuseumsociety.org
Media Roundtables: Nationalism – Media & March 4 Elections, Feb. 26 2013 @ Alliance
Date: February 26, 2013
Location: Alliance Francaise
Time: 12-2 pm
Entry: Free
Panelists
Dr. Ken Ramani, Mr Joe Ageyo, Prof. Levi Obonyo, Head Communications at Daystar University and Ken Njiru of the Ungwana TV Campaign Initiative
Moderator
Henry Makori
Artist Presentation: by premier film producer – Ruby, Feb. 14 2013 @ Kuona Trust
After learning that Brand Kenya would have an exhibition centre during the Olympics, Ruby undertook a project to showcase to both tourists and investors aspects of our country which many people are not familiar with. She also wanted members of the Kenyan Diaspora to get a glimpse of how far we have come, particularly in the last 10 years.
The clip was shown at Kenya House in London and has since been uploaded onto YouTube having about 8,000 views in just 5 days.
View: Kenya Today really worth Knowing
Come interact with the artist and learn more about her work and experiences this Thursday, 14th February at Kuona Trust from 2pm.
Celebrate! The Arts & African Heritage, Feb. 16 2013 @ Paa Ya Paa Arts Centre
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2013
Venue: Paa Ya Paa Arts Centre
Time: 11 am to 6 pm
Event: Life Talk! Peace Forum, Feb. 9 2013 @ National Museum
Date: February 9, 2013
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium at the Nairobi National Museum
Time: 4 pm
Entry: Kshs 500
Talk by: Boniface Mwangi & Prof. Kihumbu Thairu
For more info visit: http://www.livingproofmedia.com/
Panel Discussion with the Architects: Dreams of Nairobi – Re-imaging Nairobi City, Feb. 1 2013 @ Goethe
Date: February 1, 2013
Venue: Goethe Institut
Time: 6 pm
Entry: Free
Kenya Media Roundtables: Opinion Polls, Media Coverage & the March 2013 Elections, Jan. 29 2013 @ Alliance
Date: January 29, 2013
Venue: Alliance Francaise Auditorium
Time: 12 – 2 pm
Entry: Free
Panelists
Brice Rambaud, PhD [Program Director, Democracy & Governance, Internews in Kenya]
Linus Kaikai [Managing Editor, NTV]
Angela Ambitho [Group CEO, Infotrak Research & Consulting]
Moderator
Henry Makori, Fahamu
Thesis Defense: Political identity in Nairobi CBD by Lydia W. Muthuma, Jan. 14 2013 @ IFRA-BIEA
Date: January 14, 2013
Venue: IFRA – BIEA
Time: 2 pm
Jury : B. Calas (supervisor), Université de Bordeaux III ; P.A. Makachia, University of Nairobi ; C. Musambayi Katumbenga
Public Lecture: Facing special Challenges – the Israeli Supreme Court, Dec. 18 2012 @ University of Nairobi
Date: December 18, 2012
Venue: 8-4-4 Hall, University of Nairobi
Time: 3 pm
Entry: Free
Speaker: Justice Eliezer Rivlin, former deputy president Israeli Supreme Court
Commentary: Hon (Dr.) Willy Mutunga – Chief Justice/President – Supreme Court of Kenya
For more info: UoN website
Talk + Public Debate: Rights in the Age of Terrorism, Dec. 18 2012 @ University of Nairobi
Date: December 18, 2012
Venue: Main Campus – ED 213, University of Nairobi
Time: 2.30-5 pm
Entry: Free
Talk by: Dr. William F. Schulz – President and CEO Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Dr. William is a renowned author, scholar and speaker on human rights, security & terrorism
[Update] Kwani? LitFest 2012: Stories of the Horn of Africa, Dec. 9-16 2012 @ Various Venues
Festival Dates: December 9 -16, 2012
Events Line Up: Public Lectures, Writers in conversation, Readings, Performances, Art Exhibitions, Film Screenings
Venues: various venues – Kifaru Gardens, Kwani? Garden, National Museum, University of Nairobi, Goethe Institut, Kuona Trust, Habesha, Kibera, KICC Helipad, Eastleigh, South B [map below]
Update: All the events scheduled to take place at University of Nairobi have been moved to the National Museum
Entry to most of the events is Free
Download litfest_programme
Focus: Stories of the Horn of Africa with participating Countries – Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan & Kenya
Some of the writers confirmed for the festival are: Hadraawi – Somalia, Warsan Shire – Somalia, Sayadin Hersi – Somalia, Awes Osman – Somalia, Said Juma Hussein – Somalia, Chehem Watta – Djibouti, Meaza Worku – Ethiopia, Jamal Mahjoub – Sudan, Alemseged Tesfai – Eritrea, Nawal El Saadawi – Egypt, Kojo Laing – Ghana, Helon Habila – Nigeria, Deqa Abshir – Somalia/Kenya, Fawaz El Said – Sudan, Yassir Ali – Sudan, Altayeb Daw Elbeit – Sudan, Ermais Ekube – Ethiopia
A Snap Shot of the Programme
Date: December 9, 2012
Venue: Kifaru Gardens
Time: 2-10 pm
Music by: Waayaha Cusub and Kato& Band
DJ Set by: DJ Zelalem
Entry: Free
Date: December 10, 2012
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Monrovia Street
Time: 2.30 – 8 pm
Entry: Free
Date: December 11, 2012
Venue: University of Nairobi National Museum
Time: 2– 7 pm
Entry: Free
Date: December 12, 2012
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium, National Museum
Time: 2.30-8 pm
Entry: Free
Date: December 13, 2012
Venues: Hotel Intercontinental, Taifa Hall (University of Nairobi) & Louis Leakey Auditorium, National Museum
Time: 2.30– 7.30 pm
Entry: Free
Date: December 14, 2012
Venues: Louis Leakey Auditorium (National Museum) & Kuona Trust
Free Entry
Date: December 15, 2012
Venues: Louis Leakey Auditorium (National Museum) & KICC Helipad
Entry: Free (National Museum)
Entry: Ksh 1,000 (KICC Helipad)
About
The Kwani? Literary Festival is organised by Kwani Trust on a biennial basis where the literary leaders of Kenya, enriched with visiting writers from around the world, turn their attention to one salient subject and explore it through the lenses of the continent’s past, present and emerging literatures. In 2012, the Litfest will focus on several geopolitical trends and shifts in Kenya’s immediate north to host literary conversations with the Horn of Africa.
It thus aims to act as a platform where the story of the Horn of Africa can be told, to an extent, not taking the political crisis narrative as the only story that exists.
Additionally, the pan-African exchange programme of Goethe-Institut Moving Africa will bring a further eight African writers to Nairobi.
For the exact programme please visit the 2012 Kwani? Litfest website: http://litfest.kwani.org
More information on Moving Africa: http://www.blog.goethe.de/moving-africa/
Kwani? Litfest, Dec. 9-16 2012 @ National Museum
Kwani? Litfest full program
2012 Kwani? Litfest: Conversations with Writers and Artists from The Horn
The fourth edition of our biennial gathering of writers, poets, literary academics and theorists from the continent kicks off between 9th – 16th December, 2012. Titled Conversations With The Horn: Writers, Artists In Exchange, this year’s festival will host Somali poet Hadraawi, Sudanese-English novelist Jamal Mahjoub & Eritrean writer and historian Alemsegad Tefsayi to share their work with writers from other parts of the continent. These include Egyptian writer and activist Nawal El Sadaawi & Nigerian and Ghanaian novelists, Helon Habila and Kojo Laing. They will also be joined by writers from Mozambique, Namibia, and Cameroon.
Following different themes over the years at the Kwani? Litfest, this is the first time that we have invited a combination of different writers from the Horn to be part of a celebration of literature and its role in our lives. Recent developments in the region have created points of convergence that warrant intra-continental literary, artistic and intellectual conversations. To begin with, new writing has emerged in places where little writing at least in Anglophone Africa had been seen in the mainstream and hence Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are not the only players in a global republic of letters. Some of the most recent exciting contemporary African Literature has come from the so-called countries of the Horn by writers such as Meaza Mengiste, Dinaw Mengestu, Nadifa Mohamed, Abraham Verghese, Abdulrahman Waberi & Sulaiman Addonia. These follow in the rich literary traditions set by Nuruddin Farah, Tayeb Salih and many others.
With Southern Sudan as Africa’s latest nation, the emergence of Ethiopia as a new African economic force, the gradual stabilization of Somalia and the emergence of its resulting Diasporas, new expressions and narratives can challenge the ubiquitous narrative of political crisis. Such narratives, usually driven by outsiders, have been given prominence that mask numerous other layered realities otherwise taking place in the same areas. Writers and cultural commentators from these regions are increasingly becoming prominent in producing new narratives and ideas about their homelands. We hope that this edition of the Litfest provides a platform for the sharing of ideas through lectures, panel discussions and readings. That it can be a site of debate and discussion by writers, academics and literary enthusiasts on how literature, art and culture is related to the layered realities in the countries of the Horn now and in a glorious past.
The very fact that thousands of Sudanese, Ethiopians, Eritreans, and citizens of Somalia through migration and spill-over from conflict in these regions have seeped into Kenya’s national and especially urban psyches tells us that societal relationships have emerged that are complex and fluid. That, in truth, Kenya is as much part of the East African Community as what is known as The Horn of Africa. We recognize the differences, commonalities, and imaginaries between our societies and those of the Horn. We feel that these need to be discussed through the lens of art, literature and culture, and welcome you to the 2012 edition of the Kwani? Litfest.
Creativez Meet Up: Music Scene – the Road Less Travelled, Nov. 25 2012 @ iHub
The Creativez final meetup-takes a look at entertainers who are making it walking the “road less travelled“. We will not just demystify the REAL music scene in Kenya (funding, distribution, audience appreciation, marketing etc) we’ll explore new changes through innovation, technology and even continental linkages that are helping combat the Industry’s challenges and change the face of Kenya’s Music Scene.
The panel consists of 2 of Africa’s most prolific producers.. Calif Records – Clement Rapudo aka Clemo and Ennovator Music’s Tim Rimbui. Kenya’s international ambassadors of “folk/vernacular/local” music -OLOVA MAKADEM- The Ohangla Man and “King of Mugithi”- MIKE RUA.
Also joining is the brain behind Africa’s most consistent Music Festival Blankets & Wine- the performing artist Muthoni The Drummer Queen.
Doors open at 2pm -so come with all the questions you’ve got on Kenya’s Music Industry.
Venue: iHub – Bishop Magua Building, Opposite Uchumi Ngong Road
Entry: Free
Screening & Discussion #HRWNairobiFilmFest: Call me Kuchu, Nov 23 2012 @ Alliance
Date: November 23, 2012
Venue: Alliance Francaise Auditorium
Time: 6.30 pm
Directors: Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Country – US, 2012, Duration 87 minutes, In English and Luganda with English subtitles
In an office on the outskirts of Kampala, veteran activist David Kato labors to repeal Uganda’s homophobic laws and liberate his fellow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender men and women, or “kuchus.” But Kato’s formidable task just became more difficult. A new “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” proposes the death penalty for HIV-positive gay men and prison for anyone who fails to turn in a known homosexual. Kato is one of the few who dare to publicly protest the country’s government and media. Working with a dedicated group of fellow activists, he fights for Kampala’s kuchus on Ugandan television, at the United Nations, and in the courts. Because, he insists, “if we keep on hiding, they will say we are not here.”
With unprecedented access, Call Me Kuchu examines the astounding courage and determination required to battle an oppressive government, a vicious media and a powerful church in the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.
Discussants: Pepe Julian Onziema (Sexual Minorities Uganda), Jackson Otieno (GALCK), John “Longjones” Wambere (Spectrum Uganda Initiatives), and Jane Wothaya (Gay Kenya Trust)
Screening & Discussion #HRWNairobiFilmFest: Love Crimes of Kabul, Nov 22 2012 @ Alliance
Date: November 22, 2012
Venue: Alliance Française Auditorium
Time: 6.30 pm
Love Crimes of Kabul, In Dari & Pashto with English Sub-titles, 71 minutes, Tanaz Eshaghian
Jailed for running away from home to escape abuse, for allegations of adultery, and other “moral crimes,” the women of Afghanistan’s Badum Bagh prison band together to fight for their freedom. Love Crimes of Kabul follows three young prisoners as they go to trial, revealing the pressures and paradoxes women in Afghanistan face today, and the dangerous consequences of refusing to fit into society’s norms. Their defiant actions come to be seen as threats to the very fabric of society, and their acts of self-determination as illegal. Will life outside prison enable these women to experience the freedom they desire?
Filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian brings us into the lives of these “outsiders,” and we watch as teenage romantics learn to become steely-eyed negotiators in an effort to secure their future, brokering their freedom with courage, charm, and skill.
Discussants: Ann Njogu (CREAW), Dorothy Ogutu (African Sex Worker Network) and Judy Okal (Center for Reproductive Rights)
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