"Ismaili Woman"
A young Ismaili woman (followers of the Aga
Khan, who as Sh'ia Muslims observe a different interpretation of Hejab )
working in the fields in the remote region of Ishkashim.Badakshan. Badakshan
is a rustic land of snow-capped peaks and grinding poverty that is also one
of Afghanistan's main opium producing regions. The province was almost
entirely cut off from central government, both politically and physically and
as a result opium poppies have been grown in Badakshan for centuries, but
cultivation took off during the upheavals of Afghanistan's two decades of war
and occupation. October 2004
