Six years after the fall of Islamist Taliban government, what change do you expect in the mindset of people in Afghanistan? It’s still the same. Being the ultra-conservative country, women still have to appear in public wafting past in the burqa’s pale blue, their dark eyes only occasionally visible behind the bars of its grille.
What if someone takes a step forward to let these afghani women come out of burqa? A small independent TV Channel in northern Afghanistan has risked a violent backlash by launching a search for the country’s top model with an low-budget take on the hit America’s Next Top Model, a reality TV show in which judges choose prospective models from a group of contestants over several weeks.
The show was broad-casted on Arzo TV (Hope TV) in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. The costumes included Afghan national dress as well as locally fashionable combat trousers and jeans paired with modest jackets and smocks. The models were dressed in such a way that their legs, arms and neck were well covered.
Though potentially provocative, in a country as conservative as Afghanistan where it is customary for women never to show their faces to men who are not their close family, but I think it’s a great step forward to help ladies lift the veil. Anyways, for now, this TV channel has raised hopes for beautiful Afghan ladies to show off a lovely visage. Good luck ladies!
Source: Gadling
