TIME Features Afghan Women's Poetry Societies

In Afghanistan's underground communities, poetry societies led by women have been gaining popularity. Now, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Lynzy Billing writes at TIME, literary societies like Mirman Baheer (founded in 2010 by women's rights advocate Sahira Sharif) are becoming increasingly vital meeting spaces for women who "want to share their perspectives without fearing their safety." More:

Sharif recognized that anonymous communities were one of the few safe avenues for Afghan women to share firsthand accounts of their lives. Mirman Baheer meets in a different secret location each week, allowing women to share experiences that would otherwise remain hidden.

In rural areas many women still write in secret, using pen names. Mirman Baheer offers a space for rural women to share their deepest thoughts through a type of coded oral poetry called a landay. Originating thousands of years ago, landays are usually anonymous, and composed of two lines of 22 syllables. One notable example is by warrior war poet Malalai:

‘Young love if you do not fall in the battle of Maiwand;

By God someone is saving you as a token of shame.’

Malalai, an Afghan heroine who famously fought during the second Anglo-Afghan war, called out this landay during the 1880 battle of Maiwand. Locals believe Malalai’s landay motivated the fighters to ultimately defeat the British invaders.

These days, Mirman Baheer hosts a few hundred members aged 13 to 55 in clubs across a handful of Afghan cities and provinces including Kandahar, Khost and Jalalabad. Younger poets are mentored by professors and poets. During the pandemic, physical gathering has become difficult, but the founding members have come up with a solution: live streaming on Facebook. Members can join from the safety of their homes, participating in conversation and literary criticism.

Continue reading at TIME.