Love Crimes of Kabul (2011)

Directed by: Tanaz Eshaghian | 71 minutes | documentary

There are about 125 women in the Badum Bagh prison in the Afghan capital, Kabul. About half are serving a sentence for murder, drug smuggling or some other serious crime, the other half are incarcerated for committing ‘moral crimes’. These are women who have had sex before marriage, run away from home, or have committed adultery. Acts that are severely punished under Islamic law. In her documentary ‘Love Crimes of Kabul’ (2011), filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian gives an insight into life behind the walls of an Afghan women’s prison. She followed three young women awaiting trial. They have candid conversations about justice and injustice and explain why they were arrested. To the outside world they are outcasts. Because, according to a male prison guard: ‘If they were good women, they wouldn’t be here.’

The eighteen-year-old Sabareh was reported by her own father. He had caught her with a seventeen-year-old neighbor while they were kissing in the back of the house. A medical test must show whether there has been sexual contact. Pending the results — and a possible sentence for premarital sex — she is in Kabul’s women’s prison. She remains positive about it, because she knows she has done nothing wrong. She also loves the boy and hopes that the problems with the law will eventually lead to him asking her to marry him. As is the case with Kareema (20), who is initially just as box-fishing about her boyfriend Firuz. According to her, he was after her and she admitted because she liked him. However, Firuz and his family think very differently and claim that Kareema set him up.

Complicating this matter even more is the fact that Firuz and Kareema come from different tribes. “Everyone should stay with their own people,” says Firuz’s mother. “Her own people didn’t want her.” Because Kareema didn’t get her way, she decided to voluntarily turn herself in, hoping to force Firuz into marriage. As a result, he too had to go to jail. In an interview, he admits he wishes he had never met her. As if the case wasn’t complicated enough, Kareema finds out in prison that she’s pregnant. When Firuz’s family finally agrees to marry, the sophisticated young woman turns out to be a shrewd businesswoman. Islamic law requires that an amount is agreed in advance of the marriage that the woman will receive if her husband wants to divorce her. And Kareema is aiming high, especially now that she realizes that Firuz is not in love with her.

Even more complicated is the case of 23-year-old Aleema, a divorced woman who was living with her parents again. They treated her like a slave, a second-class citizen (the divorce has hurt the family honour). When she couldn’t take it any longer, she fled the family home. An older woman, Zia, caught her. Money also plays a role here. Zia is trying to sell Aleema. However, one of the potential buyers turns out to be an undercover agent and both women are arrested and put in jail together. The mood is high there. Zia demands that Aleema marry her son as “compensation” for the fact that she too is in prison. However, the proud, stubborn Aleema refuses because she believes that Zia’s son cannot support her. Plus, she thinks Zia is just trying to snare her because she can get her cheap because of her “disgrace.”

The stories Eshaghian tells are complex, but the women are surprisingly candid. They are proud women, trapped in the restrictions of Islamic law. The film makes clear how Western influences have crept into Afghan society and especially affect the younger generation. The fact that Kareema and Aleema in particular appear to be unsympathetic women (Kareema even turns out to be a straight bitch), does somewhat detract from the message that the director wants to convey. The dominant personalities of the ladies dominate the actual analysis of Islamic criminal law. Nevertheless, ‘Love Crimes of Kabul’ offers a revealing glimpse into the women’s prison of the Afghan capital.