Frontline Club screens documentary on Taliban’s war on women

The Frontline Club in Paddington hosted a screening and conversation on 5 November 2026 centred on the Taliban’s systematic suppression of women’s rights in Afghanistan since seizing power in 2021. The evening, which sold out entirely, brought together correspondents and filmmakers who have documented the reality on the ground as women’s freedoms have been progressively dismantled.

Among the speakers was the Emmy and BAFTA award winning correspondent Alex Crawford, whose three decade career has taken her to the world’s most dangerous frontlines. Crawford returned to Afghanistan this summer for the first time since the Taliban’s takeover, spending nearly three weeks documenting conditions for women under the regime. Her career encompasses coverage of the Arab Spring across Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Syria, and she was the first reporter to broadcast live from Tripoli’s Green Square as the capital fell to rebel forces. More recently, she has reported from Istanbul on major stories across Africa, South Asia, the Gulf and the Middle East, including coverage in Myanmar, Ukraine and Hong Kong.

Crawford’s accolades include five International Emmy Awards, recognition for her reporting on the Taliban in Pakistan, the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Ebola epidemic, and her coverage of the Battle of Bucha and Irpin in Ukraine, which included an unprecedented interview with President Zelenskyy during active siege conditions. She has received four BAFTA Awards and an unprecedented five Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year accolades. The screening brought together these voices to illuminate the lived experience of Afghan women navigating life under Taliban rule.

Imagery courtesy of Frontline Club (@frontlineclub).