Its a side of afghanistan and up the wider world has forgotten a peaceful and fascinating afghanistan boasting unique natural monuments and the legacy of a civilization dating back over a thousand years and then there are the people who live and love that and their illuminating stories. This ancient malady years set to exude this sense of apple blossoms and the musicians and a conductor actually do blossom as they perform in the capital kabul eighteen year old nagin feels far removed from all the current problems mentioned swings are back. When i conduct the student i really its feel like crying im conducting here and its easy if i do it if i work hard on the. Nagin has a competition nature which was vital in asserting herself against the reservations of the clan the northeastern afghanistan a region where the taliban still have considerable influence. After the orchestral rehearsal negin practices various percussion instruments. She had wanted to become a pianist but an injury forced her to consider other options its a minor challenge after everything shes been through. They say if you are going to music school are you are conducting or you are some doing some interviews so you will kill you like this they told me but didi cant they just tour like this so they scare me and yet my life is in danger more than two hundred students are enlisted at the National Institute of music a quarter of them women they have access to the best music teachers in the country as well as to some from abroad. Like robin who until recently was playing the cello in a rock band and disregarded the worries and warnings of a family in the united states. When i was here a couple. Months ago there were there were some horrible attacks and i think theres a hunger here theres a passion and its a zire to learn music to to try and also express find ways to express oneself the founder and director of the institute almost died in an attack himself he was badly injured hardly a day goes by without Death Threats targeting him and just charges he continues regardless this nation is not played to give up once again and to allow anyone to he turn to enough history back or i need also given gap and running away from afghanistan just for my life. Its lunchtime everything seems relaxed here in the heart of kabul where terrorist attacks have become part of everyday launch the director hopes that young women like me again can lead the country to a Better Future she declares instead new generation of afghanistan that in spite of all the challenges and all the. Hachi day and needed to fight for their rights. Many of the female students live near the institute their home is called an orphanage not because their parents are dead but because in the eyes of their parents the children are dead having been led astray. Good luck and whom are often think of their homes they come from the same region as nagin their role model. Dynomite yeah id like to go back to my village and teach the girls music their. Mom autism but thats impossible now because the taliban is very active in our region. And all. The young women here are resident they dont want to turn their backs on afghanistan they want to help build the country the International Coverage of their school is a nice bonus they regularly watch this recording of a concert they gave in washington d. C. Three years ago in front of an illustrious audience in the middle of the orchestra is nicky at the time playing an afghan string instrument. In kabul shes never completely free from fear especially not when shes on her way home until recently she lived in the orphanage too but for a few months now shes been living on the outskirts of town shes finally reunited with her family who she hadnt seen for years because they had to fear for their lives in their home province now theyve moved to kabul to join her her eight siblings and mother and her father who works as a bodyguard and knows what danger his daughter is in every day or every time im thinking like this because life is not set that much here because the government there door didnt do anything for us and she become now the first lady in afghanistan conduct telling shes can doctoring. Partly due to his own efforts as well when again was determined to attend a school eight years ago he let her go to kabul and didnt interfere when she discovered the popular life and do it if you will like it but my mother said that its not good for a girl. The mother doesnt want to be filmed but negin says shes also a little proud now of the eldest child who is showing the whole world what afghan women can do once theyre given the freedom to realize their potential. That. This is the new sound of afghanistan and the new look so some feel this is the pioneer of female rap in the country and. The studio where shes recording on your album is located in this street its an inconsiderate q. S. And glamour last place susan cuts a colorful figure here in more ways than one instead of a book because shes wearing a hat with a face uncovered not subtracted attention and has like her music let to a serious of threats she was told shed be kidnapped so the face could be disfigured with acid i didnt you know having to own that i never feel safe on the streets of course i could wear a burka and then move about more freely my relatives think what im doing is really terrible. Only my parents and my siblings stand by me. She grew up in a refugee camp in iran with a family after the taliban was toppled she returned to afghanistan and initially worked as a cop at maker than five years ago she discovered rap music. You know. What im plenty i still cant make a living with my music sometimes i think about leaving afghanistan on the other hand i like the people i want to improve conditions here. By speaking her mind and rap lyrics which are franken critical of society. Let me point a fact that there are differences to western rap im not allowed to use bad language for you but i am allowed to rap honestly about the things that move me and i do that very very clearly and have exactly talk about an obsession mission to just send for the men to get buy from them and then eaten them. More. Like i want them as i dont want. Susan wraps in the local language dari she wraps about corruption about the oppression of women and the terrible security situation she hopes she can change things for the better and how to ensure that one day she can go to the Recording Studio without fear. Theres music in the air here to the final of the biggest t. V. Show in the country millions cant wait to find out who will become this years afghan star the two contestants left in the competition for the two previously unfancied outsiders yet as a hairdresser hes wrapped himself into the hearts of the audience and the judges with his no nonsense lyrics and their sixteen year old salada who had until recently never sung in front of an audience in the end the hairdresser triumphs. The way he was rapping was all the problems of the society so he was talking the language of every afghan thats living in this country so thats why he came up. This prize a moped and a short trip to kazakhstan and away from afghanistan at least for a bit. So yet is from the northern afghan city of Mazar E Sharif where the taliban recently committed a terrible atrocity the disastrous security situation is one of the many problems yet raps about. Still dont want to leave afghanistan forever my friends are here and this is where my purpose lies i want to capture the pain of the Afghan People in my lyrics that was a record of just that that death are justified and he doesnt mince his words im angry because the government doesnt do anything for ordinary people instead of looking after the poor theyre fighting for power at the top but the person who has the most becomes a minister that while the country is going down the path yet is happy about his victory even though he things should have won but as you. Said he has such an. Lovely personality and she comes from such a dangerous region what about chicago courage i learned should have earned her the victory. Even so never before had a woman made it this far in this show to lala a young woman singing and in public for many a blatant provocation. Insecurity as the shows producer knows all too well last truck in a cobbled this he lives in danger to last year the taliban attacked his station killing seven stop at least twenty people were all through also has to expect the worst if i say right now no theres no rest for i would be lying because. Going back to jalalabad going sinking in if you go to city after all of you dont see much money. And so being a single. Performing on stage performing on a big stage like star is is not out of danger. This might be the most secure campus on earth the students are literally walled in not just once but three times thats the number of barriers in closing the American University of afghanistan there are also numerous security checks the university is filled not just with students but also security personnel there largely from india not afghanistan to be sure that no taliban member has infiltrated the squad after one terrorist attack the university was closed for more than six months the College President is adamant Something Like that will never happen again. We of course had to increase our security massively but we did that and we were very worried that many students would come back in fact many students came back many more new students came and over the last three or four weeks this university has become a bright beacon of hope for all of afghanistan. Almost eight hundred students are enrolled here many of them can still remember the attack which claimed the lives of sixteen people. Or you. When you talk of anywhere in the second floor of the building which was attacked and then the attackers eventually made their way up to the class that we were hiding so we had to actually skip through the window because obviously the hallways and. For the. Patrol actually but about what about for the better man. So we had just go through when he said i want gone as the violent extremists is done high proportion of female students at the University Almost fifty percent. It left me so hard for for months because i lost some of my great friends and india tech but every came back because we wanted to tell the insurgents that no matter how many times you have tack or how much you want to scare us were going to come back because it occasion is d. On. The pad that will fight them that break them and make them weaker the mood on campus is favorable to the west although not everyone here is a fan of the incumbent u. S. President i like president i like no i dont like him i dont like President Trump better because i dont really know what his strategy towards afghanistan is i dont know what what that means but i have heard his comments about women grabbing woman and liked or talking about women in a disrespectful manner and thats something that i dont think is right for a president or a person in n. P. After class some students stay on campus those who live in dont but most of them have to leave the protection of the security perimeter and go back to the city hoping that theyll be able to return a lawyer and well the following day. Many of the really exciting places in income pull right now are hidden away the countrys most important off museum the National Gallery is located right on a main road but its been closed for renovation for some time now the museums backyard however is home to a Fascinating Development aid used to be filled with rubbish now it is the garden of peace and hope an event venue especially for Young Artists in a really safe. Haven for those whose. We are looking for the young generation or for you the young people who are talented they have a career to vittie or they are escape they have skills in the arts and we find it to those who are and remote area where the forests syria and then i find them and bring them here and i. Invite some experts in art and i take exhibition the next exhibitions about to begin a new at the young curator is receiving support from three artists theyre going over a final preparations for the exhibition at the one in one respect the situation of women in kabul has massively improved in recent times in the past they werent even allowed to go to work they couldnt leave the house but thats becoming more normal now im optimistic. That will make the room here i think my goal is to become really good in the next five years and win an International Award taking pictures is my passion and i want to make the most of it and i. Feel that there. Further are just some rive almost one hundred in total they all want to experience the opening of the exhibition at noon they have to wait because the deputy minister of culture has heard that were here so she wants to give a speech. Anyone can. Mr. Davis. Then finally everyones allowed into the garden and my other works on display theyre not for sale today but the artists are content with the recognition that gets and the feeling of having an impact like the painter of this picture. I want to express the pain of all afghans particularly that as the women who have been suffering for so long from oppression because im criticised for this not least by the less well educated so they ask why im doing this and why im criticizing our country they dont realize that by doing this im raising understanding for our country around the world are like a g m a says im sad and also say. Theres no abstract modern art to the paintings are either purely decorative or theyre striking in an easily accessible way. The garden is funded by donations from other countries it has a budget of around one hundred euros a month through. The garden of peace and hope is private and im im responsible for this got my responsibility is that what i have. To do i do. And for their gallery i dont know its from government and he said its two years and the door off this gallery is closed and i dont know why its not going to be open but here im responsible that i have to take exhibition i take its a vision every month a short while later the visitors are gone and the garden is empty again ready for the next exhibition. Those who like a bull from its quiet relaxing side head just out of the city to the biggest natural attraction in the region. Laycock although its a manmade reservoir that doesnt bother the thousands of daily visitors. They can hire a boat for just a few cents or enjoy the various attractions online. Theres also a range of small restaurants with new ones opening all the time this one is still under construction its name translates as clean foster. The owner. Spent almost twenty years in germany in a place near frankfurt his wife and children still live there but ten years ago he chose to return to afghanistan. Would unleash what windows then when i was in germany the weather really bothered me and when its coming out go sundin when i returned to afghanistan i felt better in desperation. I have a lot of light and oxygen at work every day thanks to the gun and what with fresh airs own stuff. Hes not scared of attacks security has been tightened dramatically since a murderous attack by the taliban five years ago. This year its here the securities very good here while. It is the. Police the police are over there the police say is yes and. There are checkpoints everywhere. Id have to ask for control. This is the best and friendliest spot in afghanistan or in good just this. In the ghetto selfless of the c. S. And things do remain calm in and around kabul today there are no reports of attacks if it were always this way more foreign visitors would perhaps come and experience the relaxing atmosphere of lake aga. Iraqs in northwest afghanistan a wedding is about to take place and not a conventional one there are the obligatory security checks at the entrance ops theres in the gallery above the hole sixteen couples are waiting to be trode they will look into each others eyes for the first time only after the ceremony custom demands that the bride hides her face until the end of the wedding the seating arrangement is very strict the men sit on the left and the women on the right theyre largely from poor backgrounds and almost a loss of the knowledge that you see my family has no money. And that my income is just enough for the bare minimum. Thats why im grateful i can get married today the most. Noble and. Im happy my mother is here along with my sister my aunt and two other relatives. All in the one night. Theres one cake for all the wedding guests donated like the cost of the entire event by Business People from the surrounding area. These women are responsible for the organization they chose the couples depending on their level of need. But the full version weve been engaged for six years i responded to a chance to find ed and applied for the wedding for the two of us and for them one of the staircase thanks be to al or we were picked was all over there hello. The master of ceremonies hats the parade of couples carrying the quran the procession looks like a t. V. Event and indeed a local broadcast is transmitting the ceremony live the couples have dressed up in their final refold the ok jand borrowed finery. Almost at the same time a few streets away theres a regular wedding in one of the citys huge wedding holes the catering alone costs twenty thousand euros the average wage is less than two thousand euros in afghanistan as a result many afghans take on a huge debt when they get married. In western countries couple spend a lot of money in nightclubs before the wedding here in afghanistan the wedding is the one big celebration so its fine if it costs a little bit more. After the meal comes to party the men dance among themselves. The women celebrate next door where cameras are forbidden. The countrys fourth biggest city still maintains traditions although the taliban has no presence here there are strict family customs in place. Many women are forced to get married they strike complains she says the opulent wedding facade mosques the awful reality of marital life. Just one percent of all marriages here are based on love that only happens in very liberal families and if a wife is abused by her husband she cant get a divorce her parents tell her to stop making such a fuss. If. For some this marital how and in hospital every month sees the mission of young women whove tried to kill themselves some just after their wedding doctors talk about a literal epidemic of self burning women who pour petrol over their heads and set themselves a lot if they survive these incidents are called accidents. Hope its often very young girls who are forced to marry by their parents often to very much older men who treat them. Poorly guess at some point they see no other way but suicide and going on what sources in some poll families the daughters are sold into marriage for them their wedding day is a day of horror. The mass wedding is approaching its climax a huge surprise awaits the couples and the guests he writes most famous singer will be performing a formal window of afghan stuff while the guests enjoyed the entertainment the organizers are already planning the next group wedding. I bet it. Will keep our eye out for applications via facebook and will find those who dont have access to the internet and must there are enough people who cant afford to get married because of poverty and of the other message it yes it is a message of the moment my message is. The celebration last three hours relatively brief by african standards then the young people stop them married lawyers without veils and without sponsors. Theres just that geographical hot of afghanistan right between herat in the west and kabul in the east everything seems peaceful here in the province of balmy on. Its main claim to fame is an unparalleled natural attraction this lake. More than one hundred thousand told arrests come here every year most of them are from afghanistan during the winter season its possible to skate on the lake which sits at an altitude of two thousand meters during the summer months its used for bathing and boating. The people here live off tourism bomb yons considered liberal and women work as tour guides to. Question. Im happy that more and more tourists are coming here it would be nice to see a few more foreign visitors. But the problem is that this place is hard to get to this road goes through territory where theres fighting that scares off people who cant afford to fly john good though. Their animal skin is. The only other attractions more famous than the lake out ones that dont technically exist anymore all thats left of the mother rocky caves where they were blown up by the taliban fifteen years ago the world famous borders of bomb yes but theres a whole new attraction here now the countrys only International Marathon the runners registered on the day before the race andre is from germany. This is a very good measure but i want to survive i want to finish and it was a time of less than six hours you have respect for the altitude. Of course thats the biggest problem. Ive never run a three thousand meters you can tell you get out of breath faster when you climb some stairs. And come to the races hosted by a british organization. Well security is something that as a Race Organizers we have to take very seriously especially given we bring some International Runners here its really a race for the local people but as soon as you start bringing internationals in then we need to in a way up the risks of as you can imagine so keeping the race low profile we dont publish that kind of thing is is very important these two girls have also registered which is pretty unusual in afghanistan theyre from the local area. Command. Some of my relatives think women shouldnt run marathons but why not tell you about this event in that box where they get that it was. Meant to harmonize or it should be taken for granted one of the reasons why were running is to make a statement and i wish the participants gather the following morning its friday and therefore the day of rest there are around two hundred fifty runners including more than one hundred women and they cant wait to get going. Among them is needle for the student. Council for your own that time goes oh i wasnt allowed to go out of home but now has been granted so its a very different and the race is cosponsored by free to run an International Organization that empowers women and girls in conflict affected communities feel like this is a not good now maybe they dont know yet how it feels and the excitement among the women and girls here is incredible they need space to express themselves to see platz our finance which i was told my guess is theyre happy to be given this opportunity its nice to see the boys and girls running together here youngster to meet him yet. Is that now from a death a satanic candace. Running against daunting resistance something this man knows all about charlie from britain as an artificial leg its something that i was in the news. All those years ago so to say here and say now is that its its a bizarre emotion its its incredible its sad to see them gone and i dont know i guess the history is its causing the world so thats what is this but the freezing cold and thin air everyone is extremely motivated this is from scott theres five degrees were very excited we hope well make it and get in under six specs and with that extra. The race begins to shoot. Bomb youngness considered taliban free is population as tolerant the only intimidating thing here is the challenging but beautiful course. The spectators cheer for the runners from other countries. But most of all for the local women taken cocked. Back to. The highest point is at three thousand metres the course takes the runners through picture perfect landscapes that lessen the pain in the lungs and the legs at least a little. That wont fall halfway through the race theres a refreshment stop and theres trouble the second placed man is accusing the front runner of cheating saying he took a car for part of the course he cant prove it and has no chance of catching up any more and so he gives up. Again. After almost three hours andrea rise at the twenty one kilometer mark he has to take a breather before such as an afghan nobody is talking about cheating anymore. The victor enjoys the heros reception. The. Jolly finishes and second despite his physical handicap thats also makes him the best foreign participant. You get to hear him and finally under a barrage at the finish he has reached his goal by running a time of under six hours hes satisfied that was the toughest race ive ever run the altitude is indescribable as if your lungs are being torn apart every step is torture but somehow i managed and now im having a. Mental fall as among the last to arrive but shes happy she kept going despite severe stomach pain but i am happy says at least i finish it and also it might soon. Team member which i was trained them one of them to come first. Another photo with greetings to friends back home and to be doing will be recommending they visit balmy on they dont have to run a marathon if they come here after all. Mazar e sharif and northern afghanistan the countrys Third Largest city is famous for its blue mosque the son in law of the Prophet Muhammad is set to be buried here theres another special thing about this mosque now something that never would have happened under the taliban. Its just after seven oclock in the morning like every wednesday the park belongs to the news young women for two hours. Setting the pace is neil far the young woman who recently ran the marathon she organizes the local womens meet. Running gives me energy and im feeling free with tranny when running saying feeling that im free and have i have were like other lands so im here we are like an equal with men. Joining the Training Sessions the pock remains closed to visitors a measure by the local authorities to protect the runners quite a lot of people in Mazar I Sharif consider women doing sports as islamic as a western perversion but that doesnt scare these young women. On the contrary i enjoy the feeling of freedom when i run through the park and i said in the year. After the Training Session the women start their daily lives some live more than an hours drive away theyve worked hard to save up the money for the taxi. Whos studying medicine normally goes to the university but she has a day off today shes taking care of the business she sets up she produces footballs a few dozen a day she sells them to wholesalers and employs an elder brother and also women from the neighborhood. I tried to make opportunity for the other girls to rant and now when i learned the idea about this company i was thinking about the. Housewife that they need money and they are not able to work outside of their home so this is a big opportunity for them to can work at home. You know far still lives with their family shes the youngest of five siblings and her mothers pride. They often talk about me the fast marathons shes completed several to date shes a pioneer in afghanistan. A mothers nervous every time because shes scared of extremists. As viewed only a kusiak during the marathon and a stranger came in handed her an energy drink nobody knew the guy i was scared he would poison her fortunately she never even tried it you dont let you them to them so a couple she s. We just need to fall wants to run another member of the next year not for the first time shes received Death Threats the names of the patients that we got an anonymous car a man was angry about. How could she run with foreigners and with men he said she deserved to die it is and then having money a short while later fans back in kabul not as a runner but as a student at the prestigious American University. In condos not far from Mazar I Sharif word has spread that the best bread in town is available here the queues are long in the mornings some of the people are just curious and thats because the bakery is the talk of the town. A nice omits on our way to the afternoon shift. Shes the boss and whereas a book. Condos is conservative thats why this bakeries a minor revolution. It employs exclusively women. Theres no other bakery in the country like it not yet. An isa hopes other women will soon copy what. Women bake for their families at home so why shouldnt they make that their work we want to encourage women to leave the house and become active outside of it you know as a more sister member. The bakery is supported by german Development Aid which paid for the equipment and the initial salaries the women work very hard managing to bake up to three hundred flat breads every hour and they sell almost all of them to. Make sure maybe its because we put so much effort into it we take the best quality flour and we only use could. They just leave. These women desperately need the income on their because theyre widowed or because their husbands income isnt enough. But they also pay a price some have received threatening letters there are regular reports from other parts of the country that women have been killed simply for pursuing a job. Theres criticism of the bakery and condos too particularly from religious hardliners. Ours. Is according to the quran women a strictly prohibited from working outside their home so they should stop it once the taliban gets the say here again all this will be over anyway. And indeed the taliban have tried several times to retake this city of two hundred thousand people ever since the departure of the german military. There are security checks at all the entrances to the city and that hasnt stopped the taliban from entering the city several times and spreading fear and terror. The police insists that its over and the women because dont have anything to fear. From where the americans damage the taliban quite substantially in recent weeks with aerial attacks that. Theyre not getting their hands on this city and on which. Projects like the womens bakery show this progress in was but then we find a bakery abandoned with no sign of the start of word in the neighborhood is that they fled. With their i have no idea why business was going well. Maybe they got scared because of the security situation because there was so much criticism from fundamentalists. A few days later they cannot jia opens up shop again. Her boss quit for family reasons she says but she and the other women will continue. Even though she adds she always has an easy feeling on her way to work. My parents are scared someone could hurt us i dont feel one hundred percent safe. But when i see the other women im reenergized and i know what were doing here is important. Here. The next day the bakeries going to be full again not least because theyll be three men working here too at the womens request for protection converse doesnt seem quite ready yet for a business run solely by women. Clip to. Snow. How wonderful. Notionally from. Before would happen if there were no more snow on. The climate would go haywire. And horace scenario a World Without snow to morrow to do it in thirty minutes on d w. Z devaneys come to life from but it has the right to our correspondent he is in central istanbul im joined by the shellac updated of his Political Correspondent on those stories in just a minute but first this news just in its own move up the perspective closer d. W. News. Are you up to speed on the latest technology. Know when it may be time for an upgrade is becoming part of the future. Become a cyborg im a cyborg so ive dreamed of the new sense and the new organ and ive designed my perception of reality implants that make every day life easier. I use my you can see on a daily basis that optimize the human body and connect people more effectively. I hope that this will make us more ethical persons what would life be like as a cyborg those most of us who at the end of the day these technologies can be used against us and what effect will it have on society does the shoeman race really need an upgrade i think its only the beginning of this cyborg fumin machines starting february first on t w. Ive told. The f. B. I. His Deputy DirectorAndrew Mccabe has abruptly resigned from his post several months ahead of his planned retirement in march mccabe has been the target of frequent criticism by President Trump who accused him of bias against him and in favor of his twenty sixteen democratic opponent hillary clinton. German comic has a facing criticism for funding experiments in which humans inhaled the gas found in diesel fuse twenty five