Berlin-based Afghan model Zohre Esmaeli initiated a project two years ago aimed at bringing immigrants and Germans together, and promoting understanding of each other’s cultures. DW spoke to the model about her project.

Her family wanted to sell her as a bride. An Iranian film director saved her by breaking the main rule of documentary filmmaking: do not interfere. The story became one of the best documentaries of the year, “Sonita.”

A few days ago unknown gunmen killed five female Afghan guards working at an airport in southern Kandahar. The killing which took place on Saturday, December 17 highlightes the continuing threat faced by women working outside of the home in Afghanistan. The women had received death threats from people opposed to women in the workforce.

© picture-alliance/dpa/EPA/J. Rezayee

In a country where daughters are locked up and music is frowned upon by fundamentalist extremists, Negin Khpalwak is determined to become Afghanistan’s first female conductor.

© Getty Images/AFP/W. Kohsar

Womens rights and gender equality are in focus in Afghanistan after Kabul University introduced a new course aimed at improving the position of women in Afghan society.

Bamyan Governor Dr. Habiba Sarabi stands on a patio overlooking the Bamyan river valley where the ancient standing Buddhas of Bamiyan statues used to reside in two giant insets, one of which can be seen here, June 18, 2012. Sarabi is the only female Afghan provincial governor in history.Since becoming a Governor, Dr Habiba Sarabi has efficiently governed Bamyan and used this platform to promote the rich cultural heritage of the province. © Ali Sher

Born in the mid-50s in Mazar-i-Sharif, a cultural and religious site in Afghanistan with famous shrines that get thousands of visitors annually, Dr Habiba Sarabi’s childhood was similar to that of many girls in her country. She grew up in a lower middle class household where money was tight, and her father preferred her brothers. She had to work twice as hard to show that she was capable of doing as much as them, if not more.

Deeply engrained social norms along with allegations of corruption and lack of professionalism are hindering access to justice for Afghan women victims of violence, a new UN report finds. DW examines.