In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where women are barred from education, work, and public life, a group of young women secretly form a reading club. Inspired by Anne Frank, they document their lives through handwritten diaries and covert phone footage, recording moments of fear, defiance, and solidarity. Filmed from within, the story follows Taliban raids on a hidden school, the arrest of girls practicing martial arts, and escalating threats that force one member into exile. Interwoven with their journey is director Shakiba Adil’s return, as she reconnects with a new generation confronting the same repression she once fled. Selected for the Nordic:Dox Competition at CPH:DOX, THE SECRET READING CLUB OF KABUL is a powerful and captivating documentary from Shakiba Adil and Elina Hirvonen (Paradise – Three Journeys in this World, 2007). Inspiring in its courage, the film is a call to ensure Afghan women’s voices are heard at a time when the Taliban is doing everything to silence them. With a raw, intimate blend of covert phone footage and cinematic exile scenes, it reveals a life of defiance, solidarity, courage and friendship under constant threat. In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where women are barred from education, work, and public life, a group of young women secretly form a reading club. Inspired by Anne Frank, they document their lives through handwritten diaries and covert phone footage, recording moments of fear, defiance, and solidarity. Filmed from within, the story follows Taliban raids on a hidden school, the arrest of girls practicing martial arts, and escalating threats that force one member into exile. Interwoven with their journey is director Shakiba Adil’s return, as she reconnects with a new generation confronting the same repression she once fled. Selected for the Nordic:Dox Competition at CPH:DOX, THE SECRET READING CLUB OF KABUL is a powerful and captivating documentary from Shakiba Adil and Elina Hirvonen (Paradise – Three Journeys in this World, 2007). Inspiring in its courage, the film is a call to ensure Afghan women’s voices are heard at a time when the Taliban is doing everything to silence them. With a raw, intimate blend of covert phone footage and cinematic exile scenes, it reveals a life of defiance, solidarity, courage and friendship under constant threat.