Support Abarzanan Exhibition Honoring Afghan Women

The Abarzanan exhibition is held every year in Kabul, Afghanistan to pay homage to Afghan women’s strength and resilience. ’Abarzanan,’ which means super women, selects inspiring women and creates monuments to honor their contribution to Afghan history. Each piece carries an individual story of struggle and courage, traditional and modern artistry, and a message of women’s empowerment. In addition to showcasing Afghan women's stories and history, the Abarzanan exhibition provides employment for artists and artisans in Kabul.

Abarzanan came into existence to change the current narrative identifying the women of this country as only victims, and therefore as deserving of less. We are here to say, Afghan women are not victims but champions. We are here to say the world must listen to our voices, especially as they attempt to deal our rights away with the Taliban and other terrorist groups. We are here to say that there will be no sustainable peace in Afghanistan without women’s voices, without women’s rights, and without women’s meaningful participation. We are here to say that we refuse to be erased from the narratives, from the tables where decisions are made, or from the halls of power.

Your support will allow us to:

⁃ Hire eight national and international artists to work on the upcoming exhibition

⁃ Hire a writer and a translator to prepare the biographies of the women recognized through the exhibition and make it available in English, Pashto and Persian

⁃ Cover the cost of postal services used to securely transport art pieces to exhibition venues

⁃ Hire a team of woodcarvers to help us making an installation piece dedicated to Farkhunda, a victim of femicide

⁃ Hire a musical composition specialist to compose a piece of music relevant to the theme of the exhibition

⁃ Hire a graphic designer to design our publication materials for the launch of the exhibition

⁃ Rent the venue for a week to hold the exhibition

⁃ Hire a team of professionals to set up the exhibition and that includes the installation of the artworks, lighting, banners, refreshment, sound, photos and videos

⁃ Hire a professional videographer to create a high quality video of the exhibition for our website and social media platforms

Please consider supporting our campaign to help us sustain this annual exhibit. Thank you so much.

To learn more about our work, visit abarzanan. 

Read a New York Times article about our 2020 exhibition here. 

Abarzanan is a registered nonprofit founded by Rada Akbar in Afghanistan but because it is not registered in the United States, we are raising funds in our individual capacities and then transferring the funds to the team in Afghanistan using MoneyGram or Western Union. We will update the campaign with receipts after we've transferred your donations. Thank you so much for supporting our work.