Reading, writing and skating give the girls of Kabul more than hope | lou_roog
More than 17 years after the Taliban fell, Afghanistan is still one of the worst places in the world to be a girl. So says one of the opening title cards in this short film, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at this year’s Academy Awards. But it’s not all bad news, especially if the women and girls of Skateistan have anything to do with it.
Their unofficial motto is to be brave – and not the kind of hashtagged “brave” social media influencers like to throw around. Their brave is leaving the house, going to school, learning to read, asking questions and jumping on a skateboard. Since then the school has expanded to include outposts in Cambodia and South Africa, but this documentary, directed by Carol Dysinger, looks at the girls and women of Kabul’s Skateistan.The school’s focus is mainly on young girls, aged between five and 17, who are generally expected to marry young and not leave the house once they turn 13, as a student explains. In the meantime, they are expected to stay home and do housework, gardening or sell goods on the street.
The scenes of the girls learning to skate, their helmets strapped over their head scarfs, and the persistence of their tough-love instructor and former student Hanifa, are thrilling in a very lo-fi way. Watching them build confidence to skate down the large ramps in their indoor skate school, while bickering with their classmates, is joyful.
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