Afghan refugees: meeting of two young artists exiled in Rouen

For the past year, two militant artists for women’s rights in Afghanistan have been hosted in Rouen (Seine Maritime). They were threatened with death by the Taliban and then forced into exile. “A woman does not have the right to work in Afghanistan. We cannot be free. If I had stayed where I was, what would my future have been? I do not know. The Taliban kill a lot of artists. It’s hard to be a woman there”says Maryam Youssefirefugee artist. She says she is happy to be in France, but hopes to return to her country of origin once the Taliban have left.

Maryma arrived in France last summer, like thousands of Afghans, last summer. “It was not a perfect life in Afghanistan, but it was a quiet life with my family. Imagine, in one day, everything collapsed, everything was destroyed”recount Shogoa Arwinrefugee artist. The two young women are hosted by an actress. In a play, the two refugees even wrote the singular story of the exiles.