It's very hard to turn your back once you're aware of what's going on, and you're aware of the injustices, and you're aware of the civilian casualties. It's much easier if you have no idea and you've never seen it.
Lynsey AddarioRead
Photography of any living being, according to Taliban rule, was illegal. So when I went to Afghanistan, immediately I was worried about photographing people. But it was what I wanted: to show what life was like under the Taliban, specifically for women.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the struggle of capturing the reality of life under oppressive regimes through photography, especially focusing on women's experiences.
Lynsey Addario speaks to the challenges and ethical dilemmas faced by photographers in oppressive environments, particularly under the Taliban's restrictions on depicting living beings. Her intent to document and convey the genuine experiences of women in Afghanistan underscores the importance of storytelling through art, even in the face of danger and legality.
Themes
PhotographyTalibanAfghanistanWomenArtLifeOppression
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of journalism, I referenced Addario's quote to emphasize the role of photographers in documenting human rights abuses.
More from Lynsey Addario
All quotes →I do think my childhood is one of the fundamental reasons that I'm able to do my job. We were raised in this totally nonjudgmental family. We never knew who was going to walk in the front door. And as a journalist and a photographer, you walk into so many different scenes that you have to be open to everything.
Lynsey AddarioRead
As a Western woman in the Middle East, I am often put in a different category. I am sort of like the third sex. I am not treated like a man. I am not treated like a woman. I am just treated like a journalist. That is usually really helpful.
Lynsey AddarioRead
My strength is looking for composition and light, and I think those things come in the quieter times of war or photographing people affected on the margins of war - civilians, refugees; that is where I really excel.
Lynsey AddarioRead
Don't expect things to happen fast. Be empathetic with the people you are photographing. Don't be concerned about money.
Lynsey AddarioRead
If people really saw what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, then they might be marching in the streets to end wars. But you know, I think that no one ever sees because we're not allowed to see, and we're not allowed to publish what we do see. So it's quite difficult.
Lynsey AddarioRead
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