Hawa is a 52-year-old Afghani mother of six, who belongs to the Hazara minority. At the age of 13, she was married off to a man thirty years older than her. Now that her children have grown, Hawa wants to do something for herself for the first time in her life: she wants to learn to read, and to start a small company of her own.
Hawa’s daughter Najiba Noori films her mother as she is finding her new independence. Hawa saves her granddaughter Zahra from her abusive father and brings her to the city. Together, three generations of women study and plan their futures. Najiba learns how her mother’s life could have been if she would have had a choice in it. The documentary shows how violence, forced marriages and lack of access to education have for decades made Afghani women into housekeepers and child bearers with no other options.
When the Taliban returns to power in 2021, it derails the lives of Hawa and millions of other women, abolishing their hard-earned rights. Hawa’s new life is at risk of remaining just a dream.
Ida Kumpulainen (translated by Mira Sairanen)
Hawa is a 52-year-old Afghani mother of six, who belongs to the Hazara minority. At the age of 13, she was married off to a man thirty years older than her. Now that her children have grown, Hawa wants to do something for herself for the first time in her life: she wants to learn to read, and to start a small company of her own.
Hawa’s daughter Najiba Noori films her mother as she is finding her new independence. Hawa saves her granddaughter Zahra from her abusive father and brings her to the city. Together, three generations of women study and plan their futures. Najiba learns how her mother’s life could have been if she would have had a choice in it. The documentary shows how violence, forced marriages and lack of access to education have for decades made Afghani women into housekeepers and child bearers with no other options.
When the Taliban returns to power in 2021, it derails the lives of Hawa and millions of other women, abolishing their hard-earned rights. Hawa’s new life is at risk of remaining just a dream.
Ida Kumpulainen (translated by Mira Sairanen)
Hawa’s daughter Najiba Noori films her mother as she is finding her new independence. Hawa saves her granddaughter Zahra from her abusive father and brings her to the city. Together, three generations of women study and plan their futures. Najiba learns how her mother’s life could have been if she would have had a choice in it. The documentary shows how violence, forced marriages and lack of access to education have for decades made Afghani women into housekeepers and child bearers with no other options.
When the Taliban returns to power in 2021, it derails the lives of Hawa and millions of other women, abolishing their hard-earned rights. Hawa’s new life is at risk of remaining just a dream.
Ida Kumpulainen (translated by Mira Sairanen)
Info
Rating
-
Production year
2024
Global distributor
Tag Film
Local distributor
DocPoint Tallinn MTÜ
In cinema
2/7/2025