JOURNALISM 392W - Picture Post

This is a picture from a New York Times article out today called “Afghan Boys Are Prized, So Girls Live the Part.” I read it in this morning’s Times and I found this picture to be a very interesting symbol of the both the story’s message, and the issue at hand.

The piece is about a phenomenon, which occurs in Afghanistan in which families who bear no sons will often choose one of their daughters to dress up and raise as a boy. It was an extremely well written feature, which I felt was prize winning material. Among other things the story details the social and cultural pressure on these families and young girls, the varying degrees of success these attempts at transformation achieve, and the frequent emotional stress inflicted upon these “bacha posh,” an Afghan expression meaning “dressed as boy,” when they are told it is time to go back to being a girl, typically around the age of puberty.

The reason I was drawn to this picture is because it illustrates the reality of the culture surrounding Afghan children. It shows three girls, all sisters. On the right the two girls are sitting, dressed in matching “girly” outfits. On the left the girl, Mehran, wears a decidedly male outfit, and stands separate from the other girls. Her hair is cropped short, and while she definitely looks like a boy, something in her face, perhaps the positioning of her hand so similar to the other girls, shows that she is still one of them. I see the standing and separation as signs of the males’ superiority in the culture.

I highly recommend the article. I found it compelling and it made me want to reach out to those who do not experience the same degrees of equality we do in America.