Hadja Lahbib
2007 - 56 min - HD - Couleur - Belgique
A comparative portrait of two strong Afghan personalities, as seen through the eyes and the daily life of two exceptional women: Habiba Sorabi and Aïcha Habibi. The first personifies emerging democratic power; the second, the autocratic power of the warlords in remote provinces. Together, they represent the current rift in Afghanistan, except that it has nothing to do with bearded men in turbans, but rather two women of power in a world of men. How did they impose themselves? How do they exercise their authority? Is their way of governing different from that of men? How do their people perceive them? Are they moving for the liberation of women or merely perpetuating age-old inequalities? One bears the title of "wali" (governor) and the other “commander”. One answers to the authorities in Kabul; the other is loyal to the Mudjahadins who fought the Russians during the war, then the Taliban. Yet both are respected as "The Mothers of All".
Author-Director : Hadja Lahbib
Photography : Louis-Philippe Capelle
Sound : Benoît Bruwier
Editing : Bertrand Menut, Monique Rysselinck, Bertrand Menut
Delegate Producer : Les Passeurs de Lumière
Co-producer : Les Films de la passerelle
Co-producer : Casa Kafka Pictures
Broadcasting Co-producer : RTBF Bruxelles
Contribution : Radio Canada, France 3, TSR (Télévision suisse romande), CBC Radio-Canada, TG4, Teilifis Na Gaeilge