Afghanistan

Photos made by Katherine Kiviat

Darluman Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan where the Afghan King used to reside.

Landscape photograph of the male Buddha niche in Bamiyan Afghanistan on May 6, 2005. The 1,500-year Buddhas were carved into sandstone cliffs but were destroyed in 2001 by the hardline Islamist Taliban regime for being “un-Islamic”.

Young Afghan girls playing on an abandoned Soviet tank in Faisabad, Afghanistan. Photographed on June 10, 2005. Although there has been a large effort to clear Afghanistan of remaining loose weapons they are still

littered across the country.

Returning Afghan refugees line up for wood distribution at the Chamany Babrak refugee camp in Kabul, Afghanistan. This winter in Afghanistan has been the coldest in years. The cold weather poses the largest threat to the refugee communties living in small tents with little heat. Photographed in Kabul,

Afghanistan

Afghan National Police training women officers at a shooting range outside Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan National Police training women officers

at a shooting range outside Kabul

Afghan woman smoking a sheesha pipe at her home in Herat, Afghanistan on March 16, 2005. This tradition in Herat comes from neighboring Iran where the sheesha pipes are quiet common. However, it is rare in Afghanistan to see a woman ever smoking.

Portait of a young Afghan boy looking in the mirror while an old photograph of his father

stares back at us.

Young Afghan girl in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Her mother, Roshan Gul, is a beekeeper and is the main breadwinner in their family.

An Afghan bride to be enters one of the many Kabul Beauty salons.

Sikh child studying in at the only school for Sikhs in Kabul, located in the dharamsal of Karte Parwan. Due to fear of persecution or ridicule Hindus and Sikhs do not send their children to public schools in Afghanistan.

Afghan Printing Press

Karzai Rally at the Kabul Olympic stadium which used to be used for beheadings during Taliban rule. Kabul, Afghanistan

U.S. Army patrols the streets of Kabul as the date for the Afghan elections nears. Security has been tightened all over the city due to threats of election violence. Photographed in Kabul, Afghanistan

Chaman Hosseiri Refugee Camps

A young Afghan refugee at Chaman-e-Babrak refugee tent camp stands outside his home in the freezing cold. Many refugees are homeless rural people who cannot be relocated to the countryside. At least 18 have already dided this winter in Afghanistan.

Ishmael Khan's Herat War Museum in construction late at night in Herat, Afghanistan

Winter scene at the bird market in Kabul. There one can buy dozens of different kinds of birds and rabbits. Some of these birds are for eating and others are sold for “bird fights“

Men's sheesha bar in Herat, Afghanistan. This custom of smoking sheesha pipes is brought over from neighboring Iran.

Parigul, 22 year-old, (left) being bandaged by her mother in the Herat Hospital more than a month after she was admitted for severe burns over 50% of her body. Parigul is one of the many women in Herat, Afghanistan who have turned to self immolation as a rebellion against unbearable marriage. Although self immolation continues to be a large problem in the city of Herat, sources say that the situation is getting better. According to doctors at the Herat hospital and the Independent Human Rights Comission there have been more than 100 cases of self immolation in Herat alone. This is an improvement from last year's 300 cases.

Amina, 25 years old, sitting in the recovery room at the Karte Se surgical hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. Amina is one of the many Afghan women who committed self immolation as a last resort. Unfortunately, Amina, like the majority of women who do this, did not survive due to infection and lack of proper medical equipment.

Young Afghan bride to be getting ready for her wedding at one of the local Kabul beauty salons