Bacha posh

KINAAZ is an incredibly bright 17-year-old girl. She lives in a small Afghan town, with her parents and sisters, where she has been brought up under the tradition of Bacha Posh. Kinaaz’s Father, DADVAR (50) owns a carpet shop and though the family struggle financially, they are happy for the most part. The village where they live is incredibly conservative; community values are upheld by a group of men led by PAZIR (50s), who makes Dadvar’s life difficult and forces him to pay additional taxes. Kinaaz feels different from her sisters not only because of her intellect, but also because she is struggling with her sexuality and the expectation that she will become a woman in the eyes of society soon. Kinaaz’s parents reluctantly agrees to her teacher GULRAIZ (50s) sahib’s suggestion to send her for higher studies abroad. With a scholarship, bright Kinaaz gets into a university in London. Through a distant relative, Dadvar finds a match for Kinaaz in the same city. The family travels to London and Kinaaz is married. Her husband, MUKHTAAR (20), and his Afghan family are warm and welcoming but Kinaaz struggles to juggle married life with the student social scene. This becomes a problem when she meets ELSIE (18), a second-year humanities student and begins to spend a lot of extra-curricular time with her. Elsie is the head of the Rainbow Club, an organization that aims to empower women. Kinaaz learns that Elsie was in love with an Indian girl once but her parents forbade the match. Kinaaz opens up to Elsie about how she was raised and the two become closer. Relations between Kinaaz and Mukhtaar become increasingly fraught as she begins to spend more and more time with Elsie. Convinced there is something more to it, Mukhtaar follows them one day and sees with his own eyes; Kinaaz and Elsie are in love. Mukhtaar and his family confront Kinaaz and she storms out, choosing to move in with Elsie. Elsie, inspired by Kinaaz’s past, proposes that they make Bacha Posh the next focus of the Rainbow Club. The group begin to campaign for the rights of Afghan girls living under Bacha Posh. This all comes to a head when Kinaaz returns to her hometown to get footage for a documentary on Bacha Posh and is targeted by Pazir and the community men. The men set fire to Dadvar’s home and the family are forced to flee to safety in the UK. Dadvar realizes the error of his ways in choosing to conform to societal expectations instead of putting his daughter’s wellbeing first. When they reach London, he makes amends by giving Kinaaz and Elsie his blessing to be together. Kinaaz becomes an empowered woman who has campaigned for social justice, and mends her relationship with her parents in the process.