Afghan Women Leaders' Courage Shines in New Documentary

A powerful new documentary, "The Sharp Edge of Peace," offers a gripping look at the courage of Afghan women leaders advocating for change in the face of the Taliban's drastic curtailment of women's rights and freedoms since seizing power in August 2021.

Directed by Roya Sadat, the 95-minute film opens with a harrowing scene of Fawzia Koofi, a former Afghan parliamentarian and women's rights activist, recovering in a hospital bed after surviving an assassination attempt in August 2020 while traveling to Kabul with her daughter.

"They thought I was shot in the head and died," Koofi recounts in the documentary, which had its world premiere on Saturday at the Canadian Hot Docs festival.

Despite the attack, Koofi's resolve remained firm. She was a key figure among women negotiators like Fatima Gailani, Habiba Sarabi, and Sharifa Zurmati involved in the intra-Afghan talks in Doha aimed at striking a peace deal with the Taliban.

The film covers these failed negotiations from the Afghan women's perspective, providing an inside look at how the Taliban saw themselves as victorious once at the table.

"When President Biden came to power, he announced...withdrawal regardless, with no conditions, and that was a boost to the Taliban's morale," Koofi said in an interview.

Now in exile in the UK, Koofi continues pushing policymakers to address Afghan women's plight through efforts like establishing gender apartheid as an international crime against humanity.

"We are being erased," she lamented on the steady decline of women's rights.

Fellow negotiator Sarabi echoed this sentiment: "Afghan women didn't get here easily, they endured a lot of struggles."

As Sadat stated, her documentary showcases "the power of women and the beauty of this country when women participate" despite the ongoing tragedy.