Staring into the Abyss

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project © Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project © Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project View all images ↓
View all images ↓
  • Dates
    2021 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Topics Awards, Contemporary Issues, Daily Life, Documentary, Editorial, Festivals, Fine Art, Landscape, Photobooks, Portrait, Social Issues, War & Conflicts
  • Location Afghanistan, Afghanistan

Hashem Shakeri spent months documenting Afghanistan’s daily life post-regime change, capturing its adjustment to the Taliban’s return. His work portrays this transformation with an absurd yet poetic lens, set in an uncertain, fluid atmosphere.

“If you stare into the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back at you.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

The return of the Taliban to power on August 15, 2021, revived the nightmare of living under a reactionary and fundamentalist Islamic government for the people of Afghanistan. Everything changed in an instant, as if an unseen hand had mercilessly torn through the fabric of time, and the order built with effort and hope vanished into a vortex of silence and fear. The plunge back into darkness put the fate of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the LGBTQIA community in grave danger. What had deep roots was uprooted, what once reached for the sky was buried in the soil, and voices that once rose in defiance were swallowed by silence. Women and young people found themselves facing an uncertain and despairing future, compounded by worsening economic and social conditions that spread a wave of hopelessness across the country and increased the suicide rate among them. Displacement and mass exodus reached record highs, as the resistance, perseverance, and achievements of two decades woven together with the bloodshed of countless battles were wiped out overnight. The boundary between past and future was shattered, and what once held the promise of a bright tomorrow disappeared into the dust of oblivion. Yet, even in the midst of this chaos, something still lives deep within the land, something that continues to pulse in the darkness, something that, perhaps one day, will rise again.

This long-term project focuses on the lives of women and minorities in Afghanistan, profoundly altered under the weight of a regressive, death-driven regime. Through a metaphorical and immersive lens, it explores the harsh reality of oppression, resilience, and an uncertain future. Since the Taliban’s return to power, years of civil and women’s rights activism have been erased. Women have been stripped of political, social, economic, and cultural rights, turning Afghanistan into an open-air prison. Education has been banned, work prohibited, and mobility restricted. Even showing their faces in public is now a crime. Despite global condemnation, the Taliban’s mechanisms of control continue to expand, while the world remains indifferent. Women continue to protest, their voices echoing those of the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran, but every act of defiance is met with brutal suppression. Meanwhile, ethnic and religious minorities and LGBTQIA individuals face targeted violence and forced displacement, their very existence under threat.

Since the Taliban regained power, I have traveled across numerous cities in Afghanistan as a completely independent photographer. My goal was not just to be present in that tragic historical moment and turbulent landscape, but, through my camera, to get closer to the people, hear their stories, and deepen my understanding of such a complex, fluid, and ever shifting reality. These photographs serve as historical witnesses to the endless suffering of those who have swung between exhaustion, fear, and despair, but have also, at times, burned with rage, hope, and the determination to rebuild amidst the darkness. I have sought to capture this overwhelming sense of uncertainty and anxiety about the future with a visual language that reflects the ambiguity, suspension, and fluidity of their lived reality.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Zahra, 12, from the Hazaras, is standing at the window of their house in an area in the west of Kabul. She was wounded in a suicidal attack by Taliban forces (before they came to power) on May 8th.,2021 (Ramadan 25th.) to Sayed Ul-Shuhada girls' school in Dasht-e Barchi, and her best friend was killed in the attack.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

A view of the main square in Helmand, captured from my room in the early weeks of the Taliban's return, just before dawn. The city, the country, and its people are undergoing a deep transformation. Helmand Province, long a frontline in Afghanistan’s 20-year war, was one of the most dangerous regions, where American forces caused the highest number of civilian casualties during the conflict.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Fall of KabulOn August 15, 2021, the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, after an insurgent offensive that began in May. This marked the final action of the War in Afghanistan and a complete Taliban victory. The takeover led to the collapse of the Islamic Republic under President Ashraf Ghani and the reinstatement of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under Taliban rule.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Dust clouds rise from passing vehicles, partially obscuring the view of the site where the historic Buddha statue was destroyed, carved into the heart of a mountain in Bamiyan.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Hasti, Tahereh and Fatemeh who are all 13 years old, are secretly practicing circus sports with their teacher in Bamyan.After the Taliban regained power, all sports schools and circuses were closed to girls, and many of them burned their belongings out of fear of the Taliban so that no trace of them remained.Today, months later, they are sneakily rehearsing again.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Matiollah, 13, plays with his pigeon at an auto repair shop in Delaram Province, where he works. He loves pigeons, his only hobby, and bought this one for 60 Afghanis. Work was steady under the previous government, but since the Taliban took power, there’s little to do. He believes they will go to hell. “If I survive in this country, I will study until the 12th grade,” he says with hope

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Idris's friend gives him a facial massage after a long day of work. Idris, 18, moved from Daikundi to Kabul to earn a living and now works in a café where men gather. He once dreamed of studying cinema and becoming an actor, but since the Taliban’s return, those dreams have faded. With cinemas shut down and cultural fields restricted, he is now a server in a café where no women visit anymore.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Some Taliban fighters are resting and eating watermelon on Wazir Akbar Khan Hill in New Kabul.The fighters often come to this park near Kabul for congregational prayers, particularly at sunset and during Maghrib prayer.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Razia, 16, sits with her family in their backyard in Kabul. Months before the Taliban's takeover, she was wounded in a suicide bombing at her school targeting Hazaras, with injuries to her head and legs. Now, her family, already struggling with poverty, faces renewed fear. The painful memory of the explosion haunts them, and they remain indoors, too afraid to go out under Taliban rule.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Some girls secretly study at an underground school in Kabul. Many face extreme poverty, unable to afford even a notebook, yet they see education as their only way out. Since the Taliban’s return, girls have lost their right to study and must continue in secret, despite high risks. With harsh restrictions and worsening poverty, their suffering has grown, but their determination to learn remains uns

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Wahed, 16, around his home in Bamyan Province. Before the Taliban’s rise, he entered Iran illegally, working as a laborer to support his poor family. Later, Iranian police forced him back at the height of Taliban conflict. While many fled, he returned under stress. Having only heard of Taliban atrocities, especially against Hazaras, he was deeply traumatized and now lives in fear and uncertainty.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Ghadrieh, 17, is an Afghan social activist and part of women's movement stands in a café in Kabul that has been gathering dust for weeks since the Taliban returned to power and was permanently shut down.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Maida, 10, and Marwa, 7, play together in the mountains of Bamiyan while on a picnic with their family. Their father, Abdul, 36, a teacher and social activist, has secretly set up schools to educate girls. Now, under Taliban threats, he is desperately trying to get Maida, Marwa, and his family out of Afghanistan, fearing for their future in a land where girls are denied even basic rights.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

A view of an art studio in Afghanistan that has been shut down after the Taliban’s takeover. After the Taliban’s control, women have lost their right to engage in many artistic activities and to attend mixed classes and studios. The Taliban generally has a problem with art and has been prohibiting people from engaging in artistic works, especially music, even burning musical instruments.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Ferishteh, 19, who secretly came to a coffee shop with her friend after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, is forced to sit inside the tents that have been installed in the cafe so that no man can see her. The strategy of the Taliban is to isolate women and make them stay at home. Mazar Sharif.

© Hashem Shakeri - Pure Kandahar Pomegranate
i

Pure Kandahar Pomegranate

© Hashem Shakeri - The Hunt of a Falcon
i

The Hunt of a Falcon

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

These days, more families are selling their household possessions by the roadside to survive. Since the Taliban took power in Kabul on August 15, 2022, the country’s economy, long reliant on international aid, has collapsed. In response, the U.S. government and global organizations froze financial reserves to prevent the new Afghan government from misusing funds, worsening the economic crisis.

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

Taliban forces pose at a destroyed former government military base on the Lashkar Gah Road frontline in Helmand Province, home to many Pashtuns. In the cold, they lack food and gas, begging passing cars for help. Fighting without pay, they claim to serve only God and free their land. Yet, many feel lost and restless post-war, saying, “With war’s end, our days no longer turn into nights, nor nights

© Hashem Shakeri - Image from the Staring into the Abyss photography project
i

The recent war refugee camp is in Shar-e-No Park, Kabul. Jamshid, a 10-year-old from Laghman Province, fled with his parents and eight families after ISIS destroyed their home. With no camp facilities, Jamshid stands in the sun for hours daily, guarding their solar panel while recharging it, as theft is a constant threat. His struggle highlights the camp’s harsh conditions and insecurity.