“It’s very important that no-one recognises Marina,” said Azizi, who locks his wife in the room every time he leaves to make sure no one gets to her and carries out the death sentence passed by conservative imams a world away. To avoid detection, Golbahari remains tightly veiled in public — a cruel twist in the tale, given the way their nightmare began. “When you are an actor or actress in Afghanistan, or part of a film, you are accused of being an infidel, you are always in danger,” said Siddiq Barmak, the director of “Osama”, who also became a refugee in France a year ago. Since the withdrawal of most international forces from Kabul in mid-2014, a wave of religious conservatism has washed over the country — “and not only from the Taliban”, said Barmak. Nearly 3,700 civilians died in the ongoing conflict last year according to the UN — a record for the past decade. The increase in violence has sparked a fresh exodus from the country, particularly among Kabul’s middle-class liberals. Golbahari’s appearance at the Korean film festival coincided with two major events in the city of Kunduz — its temporary seizure by the Taliban and the bombing by US forces of a Doctors Without Borders hospital. Around the same time a local-language BBC channel also screened “Osama”. Back in her dank room, Golbahari sees little hope. “Before, I dreamed of the future,” she said. “Now I think only of the past.”
Source: Afghan film star in French exile after death threats – The Local











You must be logged in to post a comment.