Mind-bending photos by anonymous cousins show the pain and dreams of Afghan women

May 24, 20268:40 AM ET
By Diane Cole


This photo, from a series of pictures by two anonymous cousins, is entitled "The Music of Poverty and Violence." The subject is playing an automatic weapon as if it were a string instrument.
Mahnaz Ebrahimi|January 2026

Do these photos depict fiction or reality ... or both?

A bicyclist whose dark, flowing burka enfolds her body from head to ankles sits with hands perched on the handlebar, seemingly undaunted by the meshed veil that covers her eyes and restricts her sight. Her determination is suggested by the photo's title, "It will not stand in my way."


This photo of a woman wearing a burka while riding a bicycle is titled "It will not stand in my way."
Somayeh Ebrahimi/February 2025

A similarly clad figure swirls so swiftly that the billowing fabric appears to lift her into the air like a bird in flight; scribbled in Farsi across the brick wall in front of her is the phrase, "I dreamed that my homeland was prosperous."


"Courage means being afraid and trembling in the face of adversity, but with the courage, dance!" says photographer Somayeh Ebrahimi.
Somayeh Ebrahimi | February 2025

A third burka-draped figure places an automatic rifle on her shoulder as she would a violin, "bowing" it with a long wooden stick as if to make music. The photo's title is "The Music of Poverty and Violence."

{snip}