False: Photo of woman ‘leading a luxurious life in Afghanistan under US control’ is old, showing a Pakistani businesswoman in Lahore
By Audrey Ng and Jasmine Cheung
On Aug. 19, a Weibo user posted a photo showing a woman reading a book comfortably in a luxurious room.
It claimed, when translated to English, “Afghan women’s status [when the country was] under the control of the U.S. troops. Enjoying life in mansions, making people jealous. Why did the U.S. troops leave them behind?”（美軍控制下的阿富汗女性地位，住著豪宅，生活愜意，令人羨慕。哎，為什麼美軍拋下她們跑了呢？一聲嘆息。）
The post has 920 likes and 81 reposts at the time of writing. But the photo is misleadingly used here because it has nothing to do with Afghanistan.
Annie Lab found that the woman in the picture is Aleena Raza, a Pakistani who manages the textile retail brand So Kamal. It was taken by Reuters photographer Zohra Bensemra in 2014 in Lahore, a city in Pakistan.
The same photo was included in the Reuters visual report “ The other Pakistan” in 2014 that discussed the life of the country’s “more affluent residents.”
Raza was also featured in other photos in the same report.
This photo can also be found on Alamy.
A photo of Raza can also be found on her clothing brand’s Facebook Page.
Parhlo, a media outlet that describes itself as “promoting Pakistani talent and changemakers,” listed Raza in 2017 as one of the 20 women from Pakistan who are “breaking stereotypes.”
The Taliban took over most parts of Afghanistan including the capital on Aug. 15 after the U.S. withdrew its military force from the country to end the 20-year war.
Women’s rights became a concern as, under the Islamic military’s rule before the U.S. invasion in 2001, women’s activities were largely restricted including schooling and working.
Disclaimer: Although faculty members at the Journalism & Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong have done everything possible to verify the accuracy of the story, we cannot guarantee there are no mistakes. If you notice an error or have any questions, please email us.
Originally published at https://annielab.org on August 20, 2021.
