Malala Yousafzai on taking on the Taliban and why ‘storytelling is the soul of activism’

Bread & Roses, executive produced by Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai, is a film of resilience and resistance. It was shot by women in Afghanistan living under extreme oppression following the Taliban takeover in 2021, and shows them coming together to fight for their rights.

Malala Yousafzai knows all about fighting for the rights of girls and women living under oppressive regimes. Her activism in Pakistan saw her become the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate at just 17. She continues to inspire millions. Yousafzai, now 26, is increasingly combining her activism with filmmaking.

“Most people know me as an advocate for girls’ education. I started producing films and working in the entertainment space because I believe that storytelling is the soul of activism,” she tells Big Issue. “I know this from my own life and how much my story has resonated with people around the world. It really helped galvanise support for girls’ education and I’m hoping that Bread &Roses does the same for women and girls in Afghanistan.”

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Work, bread and education should not be too much for anyone to demand. Yet after the Taliban took power, women’s basic freedoms were immediately restricted. The film centres on the experience of three women – Dr Zahra Mohammadi, a dentist; activist Taranom Seyedi; and Sharifa Movahidzadeh, a former government employee now forced to stay at home.  

Seyedi courageously films a group of protesters. One protest leader explains what is at stake when girls’ education and freedoms are restricted: “They had dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, teachers. It’s tragic that our girls are stuck at home. They had dreams.” 

The protest, like so much in the country, is broken up with violence. “Don’t politicise education,” plead the women, but the armed Taliban pay no heed. It’s heartbreaking and enraging. Yet, as the news cycle churns ever onwards, the ongoing situation endured by women and girls in Afghanistan has been moved off the front pages and out of the public consciousness.

Malala Yousafzai wants us to see what is happening in Afghanistan. She wants us to really see it. And to fully understand that we can never get used to this situation and must never ignore it. 

“I want viewers to take away that what they see in the film is not normal,” she says. “When people talk about Afghanistan or Pakistan, they assume that this is how life is in these parts of the world. When women are systematically oppressed, we should not excuse that based on religion and culture. 

“Before the Taliban resumed control, women were in positions of power in Afghanistan… government officials and judges. That is why so many women are continuing to risk their safety and speak out, because they know that there is no basis for taking away their rights.”

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Actor Jennifer Lawrence was so moved by news reports at the time of the Taliban takeover that she and Justine Ciarrocchi, her partner at Excellent Cadaver Productions, began looking for a filmmaker to helm a documentary. 

They found director Sahra Mani, the very definition of a courageous filmmaker, whose 2018 documentary, A Thousand Girls Like Me, followed Khatera, an Afghan woman in her fight to bring her sexual abuser father to justice. And Mani was already at work on Bread & Roses, which Lawrence and Ciarrocchi then backed. A show of female solidarity behind a film showcasing and celebrating female solidarity. 

“I am so grateful to Jennifer for putting her name, resources and energy behind this film,” says Yousafzai. “We don’t see these kinds of stories on screen as often as I would like and it takes people like her to make that happen.”

For Malala Yousafzai, the women’s video diaries echoed her own story of struggle and survival.

“If you experience life under terrorism, the only thing you wish for is that it will never happen again,” she says. 

“When I first watched Bread & Roses, I understood the mindset of the women in the film. What I experienced in the Swat Valley, Pakistan from 2007 to 2009, is very similar to what Afghan women are facing. 

“But for them it has been a longer period of time and this is the second time the Taliban have gained control. I know how terrifying your daily life becomes. You don’t know when it will end. You have nothing left to lose, so you risk your life to speak out with the hope that someone will hear your story.”

Though the film is a difficult watch, the courage on display offers hope.

“While it is devastating to watch these women’s lives deteriorate under the Taliban, it is also inspiring to see the bravery that Zahra, Sharifa and Taranom display and that they recorded their lives for the world to witness,” Malala Yousafzai concludes. 

“Bread & Roses is not just a story of loss. It is a story of hope. The documentary shows these women coming together to organise and march in front of the Taliban to call for their freedom, to be able to work and for their daughters to learn. I am inspired by their courage and determination.”

Women’s work

Director Sahra Mani and producer Justine Ciarrocchi discuss the solidarity, on film and behind the scenes, that made new documentary Bread & Roses

Justine Ciarrocchi: When Kabul fell to the Taliban again in August 2021, Jen [Lawrence] had a pretty immediate reaction. She asked us to find an Afghan filmmaker and offer resources for them to capture what was happening in real time. We stumbled upon A Thousand Girls Like Me, which was Sahra’s last documentary and one of the most poignant, stunning docs I’ve ever seen. We got to work tracking her down, which took a few weeks. She was already collecting footage from women on the ground, so we said, we’ll raise money and get you some resources, please go make a movie.

Sahra Mani: When Kabul collapsed, so many women lost their jobs. Many didn’t get their salary for the last six months under the previous corrupt government and some were the only breadwinner in the family. They had to feed their children but also wanted to demonstrate for their rights. I knew some of the protagonists. They started sending me videos. These women want to raise their voice and take their rights back from the Taliban. They trusted us to tell their story, because participating in this film was risking their lives. They took a mirror to their lives for the audience to see exactly what’s happening to them. 

JC: We were overwhelmed and astonished by their resilience. It’s unfathomable. I can’t imagine going from being a college-educated, working, free human being to not being able to walk in the streets without a chaperone. We’re in awe of them. Sahra was editing the film over many months and graciously included us in her process – so I’ve sat with the material for so long. And no matter how often I rewatch this movie, it’s fresh and staggering every time. 

SM: In this film, you can witness that Afghan women are not waiting for someone to go there and save their life, or feel pity for them, or give them something. They are fighting for their own rights. But unfortunately, they are always the first victim of the decisions of politician men, and the first target of international terrorists called the Taliban. Because they know women are powerful. 

JC: We’re filmmakers. We’re not politicians. We can’t write policy. But Jen can offer a platform to issues that are worthy of it. It’s a big part of what she feels is her responsibility as a storyteller. So for us, it’s about giving Sahra a platform, giving these women a platform, spreading some awareness so people who are in power can make better decisions for these women.

SM: We trust the power of cinema as an important tool for change in all societies. Especially, in Afghanistan, where education is a privilege. As Afghan woman, going to school was a golden opportunity – and it was not given to us. We had to fight for it. In almost every corner of this world, it’s a simple part of life to go to school. But we have to risk our life and fight for future generations. So many women went to Kabul and asked for bread and education. Not all of them survived. So many women disappeared. So when these women go onto the street and protest, they know they might never go back home. 

JC: When we receive news, it’s been sanitised through a western lens. It felt like there was a real opportunity to cut straight to the bone with this film. The fact these women shot the film themselves felt like a rare opportunity to create space for them to tell their story exactly as they wanted to.

SM: As a citizen of this world, we need solidarity. Women’s rights in Afghanistan and human rights in the world are not separate. The Taliban take education from women in Afghanistan because they want to keep the mother of the family illiterate so it is easier to take their sons as soldiers. Then it will not just be Afghanistan’s problem any more. It will be a world problem. Not today, but soon. I’m worried that in the next years, Afghanistan will become a place producing terrorists into the world.

Bread & Roses is available on Apple TV+ now.

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