Motherland Afghanistan

Afghan-American director Sedika Mojadidi's Motherland Afghanistan focuses on her father Qudrat, a gynecologist who emigrated to the United States in 1972, but returned to his native land after the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban in order to help provide adequate medical care for women. The first part of the film, which recounts the physician's journey back to Afghanistan in 2003, is distinctly downbeat; the conditions in the Kabul hospital where he tries to build an atmosphere of professionalism remain dire because the support promised by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fails to materialize, and he comes back to the U.S. disillusioned and dubious about the America's commitment to rebuild the country and improve conditions for Afghan women. The second, far more hopeful, part of the documentary records the doctor's second trip to Afghanistan—two years later—ending up working at a far better equipped and organized rural hospital funded by an Afghan foundation, where he not only serves on staff but also helps to train medical students who might follow in his footsteps. Effectively documenting Dr. Mojadidi's dedication and idealism, as well as the plight of women who, for reasons both economic and cultural, have lacked the most essential services, Motherland Afghanistan is an instructive and moving film, both as a personal odyssey and as a portrait of the challenges Afghans still face in remaking their society. DVD extras include a selection of deleted scenes (including an interview with the Afghan Minister of Health), and biographies of the filmmakers. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)