Eleven young women - using their pens, paints, and voices to share their memories and experiences since the Taliban took power in 2021 and their hopes and dreams for a better future.
Image gallery
AY KASH / کاشکی / IF ONLY
AY KASH / کاشکی / IF ONLY
AY KASH / کاشکی / IF ONLY
Since the withdrawal of Western forces in August 2021, the situation for women in Afghanistan has spiralled into despair. Women have lost the ability to learn, travel alone, sight see, go for a walk, speak in public or ride a bicycle. They have all but disappeared from public life.
‘Ay Kash / ای کاش / If Only’ is a hybrid performance featuring live on-stage action by Rachel Karafistan of Cosmino Theatre and filmed ‘interaction’ with eleven young women aged between 14 -23, who are in Afghanistan. Their true identities must remain hidden because it is simply too dangerous to do otherwise but these young women want to share many things with you; their personal testimonies since the Taliban have taken power, the stories of women who have shaped Afghan culture, the tales of their mothers, their grandmothers and their hopes and dreams for the future.
All this and more bursts into life with the help of song, object theatre, storytelling, and a touch of AI. Everything that appears in the performance has been filmed and created by the young Afghan women themselves. The performance also features animations designed to protect the identities of the eleven young women, by Berlin artist Anna Benner.
„AY KASH / IF ONLY“ was awarded the prize for best direction at the prestigious International Theatre Festival ‘Valise’ in Łomża, Poland. The jury commented on the courage of the performance and the power of its artistic expression, which is more accurate than any journalism.
Under the Starry Afghan Sky are eleven young women aged between 14 – 23 living in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. The collective evolved out of the work of Herat Online School founded by the educational activist Angela Ghayour who herself fled Afghanistan in 1992 and is facilitated by Rachel Karafistan of Cosmino Theatre who has been working with the young women virtually since September 2022.
Created entirely by the eleven young women of Under the Starry Afghan Sky and facilitated by Cosmino Theatre.
(IN ENGLISH)
Participating artists
Kuba Pierzchalski
Anna Benner
