The cameras kept rolling while the world looked away — and these women paid the price.
As the U.S. planned to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in September 2021, Canadian-Afghan filmmaker and journalist Brishkay Ahmed was filming IN THE RUMBLING BELLY OF MOTHERLAND. Revealing the ongoing dangers for women reporters, and the extraordinary risks they take, this brave film provides an in-depth look into Zan TV, Kabul’s female-led news agency. A professional journalist herself, Ahmed documents both the harrowing and inspiring work of young, female journalists over the course of the two-year lead up to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Following parallel news stories as they unfold – two sets of national elections as well as ongoing U.S.-Taliban peace talks – the film reveals the daily hurdles Afghan female reporters and media staff face, underscoring the existential current events that threaten both Zan TV as a media outlet and the livelihoods of the women at its heart.
Direction
Ahmed's insider access makes every frame ethically electric.
Editing
Parallel timelines build devastating pre-traumatic tension.
Production
Filmed until evacuation — real danger, real deadlines.
Director
Brishkay Ahmed
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Zan TV was Afghanistan's first women-run station; its name literally means 'women' in Dari. The Taliban shuttered it within days of takeover.
Ahmed shot through 2021 knowing Western audiences were 'Afghanistan-fatigued' — the film's existence is itself an argument against that apathy.
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