Where Are the Men?
2011 · 15m · Afghanistan
Directed by Taraneh Salke
Genres: documentary
Tones: contemplative, provocative
Successful family planning, improved women’s health, and development in Afghanistan require the support of the country’s men as well as the women.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
A straightforward demographic inquiry dressed up as provocation—where's the conceptual teeth? Salke's doing exactly what the title promises, which is precisely where most contrarians would've already left the room.
A deceptively elegant essay that uses absence and silence as formal tools, situating itself in a lineage of feminist documentary that interrogates the frame itself; the restraint is what makes the argument breathe.
There's a single decision here—to let the camera linger on empty spaces while voices ask the question—that transforms what could've been a talking-heads piece into something that makes you feel the erasure rather than just hear about it.
Reviews
Her film highlights how men are an underutilized yet locally significant resource in the advancement of Afghan women. Her film also highlights how Afghan women must function as part of a collective to survive, which increases their reliance on men in their families and therefore any progress requires male allies.