Picturing Afghan Women’ for Western audiences
The Afghan perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7478570 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Saumava Mitra (0000-0002-8622-7091, University for Peace, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 800-820 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journalism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1464884919849359 |
| OpenAlex | W2945947629 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 16 |
As the United States engages with the Taliban in a peace process that might return them to influence within Afghanistan, concerns are rising regarding the future status of Afghan women. In this background, this article returns to the much studied subject of the portrayal of Afghan women in Western news media through Orientalist stereotypes. Noting the lack of Afghan perspectives in previous research on this topic, the study investigates the views and practices of Afghan photojournalists, who have today come to replace international photojournalists in the country, when it comes to ‘picturing Afghan women’ for Western audiences. It sheds light on the day-to-day professional activities of these photojournalists when producing images of Afghan women for Western audiences. It goes on to explore Afghan photojournalists’ perceptions about how Afghan women have been and are being portrayed in Western news media. Finally, it reports on how most of these Afghan photojournalists may perpetuate the same stereotypes about Afghan women for Western audiences because hierarchies in the international ‘visual gatekeeping chain’ supersede the Afghan photojournalists’ power to shape visual narratives and coupled with the need to earn an income as precarious labor, their individual self-reflexivity regarding picturing Afghan women are suppressed. The study also notes how photographing Afghan women causes risks for Afghan photojournalists as well as the Afghan women who are photographed. Attention is called to this hitherto invisible ethical concern that lives are jeopardized to validate Western savior narratives regarding Afghan women through images
Afghan · Art · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Orientalism · Photography · Photojournalism · Political science · Sociology · Visual arts · Media Studies and Communication · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Gender Studies · Law
Image Brokers
Democracy or polyarchy? US-funded media developments in Afghanistan and Iraq post 9/11
The Violence of the Image
The ‘Afghan Girls’
Cultural heritage and national identity in Afghanistan
Picturing Afghan Women
The enigma of news media development with multi-pronged ‘capture
Modern Mass Media and Traditional Communication in Afghanistan
A Critique of Postcolonial Reason
Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis
| Citations per year | 1.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |