Poetry as a hidden form of resistance

In ‘The Secret Reading Club of Kabul’, a group of young women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan form a secret reading circle. In a society where women are denied the right to study, work and speak freely, literature becomes a space for community, resistance and hope.

Author Uzma Akbari introduces the screening with a presentation of the oral Afghan poetic form landai, a tradition of poetry that has been performed in secret by Afghan women for centuries. She talks about her work translating landai poems, which can be read in Legenda no. 15, and about her own experimentation with the poetic form, which took shape after the Taliban seized power in 2021. As it becomes increasingly dangerous to be a woman in Afghanistan, Akbari raises the question of what survival strategies might look like under extreme conditions. Audre Lorde wrote the iconic words: ‘Your silence will not protect you’. But for landai poetry, women’s resistance lies precisely in its outwardly silent form.

After the Taliban took power in 2021, celebrating Nowruz was banned in Afghanistan. The holiday, which marks the spring equinox and New Year in Central and West Asia, is a tradition in Afghanistan that goes back more than 3,000 years.

The introduction will be in Danish.

Come and celebrate Nowruz with us at CPH:DOX! To mark the occasion, we will be serving haft mewa, a classic New Year’s dessert consisting of seven kinds of dried fruits and nuts, symbolising abundance and renewal. When you purchase a ticket for this event, you will be served haft mewa in the foyer after the film screening.

In addition to this event, during the day you can meet journalist and documentary filmmaker Nagieb Khaja, DFUNK and human rights advocate Manilla Ghafuri, who will each contribute their perspectives on Afghanistan’s culture, politics and current struggles. You can also explore Afghan handicrafts at Østerland’s stall.