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Hava, Maryam, Ayesha

Name: Hava, Maryam, Ayesha
Director: Sahraa Karimi
Released: 2019
Duration: 86 min

Representation Score

8.6/10

Excellent

2019

Director

Sahraa Karimi

Runtime

86 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film excels at centering women's ability to drive the story within a patriarchal framework, providing a nuanced look at Afghan women's lives. By focusing on characters like Maryam and Ayesha, it highlights the struggle for autonomy against systemic constraints. While the film is culturally authentic and gender-progressive, it lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities and disability. The narrative structure is strictly tied to the socio-cultural landscape of Kabul and traditional reproductive themes. Overall, the work is a sophisticated critique of institutional power, using the internal lives of its protagonists to challenge the prevailing social order.

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Category Breakdown

Does Hava, Maryam, Ayesha have LGBTQ+ representation?

Limited

The film focuses on heterosexual and cisgender social structures and traditional reproductive roles. There is no explicit evidence of queer romantic arcs or non-binary gender identities.

How does Hava, Maryam, Ayesha portray gender?

Excellent

The narrative centers on women navigating life-altering crises with significant psychological independence. It disrupts passive female stereotypes by showing protagonists solving problems independently within restrictive environments.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Hava, Maryam, Ayesha?

Excellent

The production features an authentically Afghan cast and setting. It avoids Western-centric casting by leaning into a specific, culturally grounded identity rooted in the region's lived experience.

How does Hava, Maryam, Ayesha represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques rigid social and religious frameworks through the characters' struggles for bodily autonomy. It challenges unquestioned morality by prioritizing individual survival over institutional dogma.

Does Hava, Maryam, Ayesha include disability representation?

Fair

There is no explicit evidence regarding the inclusion of characters with visible or invisible disabilities. The focus remains on gendered and socioeconomic struggles.

Present on Screen

Strong emphasis on women's ability to drive the story and psychological independence.
Authentic Afghan casting and culturally grounded setting.
Effective critique of restrictive social and religious institutions.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or queer narratives.
Absence of characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Official Synopsis

Three Afghan women from different social background, living in Kabul, are facing a big challenge in their lives. Hava, a traditional pregnant woman whom no one cares about, is living with her father- and mother-in-law. Her only joy is talking to the baby in her belly. Maryam, an educated TV news reporter, is about to get a divorce from her unfaithful husband that finds out she is pregnant. Ayesha, an 18-year-old girl, accepts to marry her cousin because she is pregnant from her boyfriend who disappears after hearing her pregnancy news. Therefore, she needs to find a doctor to get an abortion and regain her virginity. Each of them has to solve her problem by herself for the first time.

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