Na Marei (The Invisible)

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Available Summary:

Zaid, 15, lives near Kabul with his mother and sister, where they practice the bacha posh tradition. Between school, his friends, and his hobbies, Zaid seems to be flourishing in a city in ruins after the war. But when his mother tells him it’s time to get married, his ambitions crumble and the heavy secret of his freedom must come to an end.

-NQV Media.

Jack's Summary:

The protagonist of this beautiful, heartbreaking short film is undeniably diverse in gender and/or sexuality, but the nature of Zaid's identity is up to the viewer's interpretation. This film is potentially relatable for trans men, masculine lesbians, oppressed women, and others, all for unique reasons.

This is a film primarily about the practice of bacha posh, where a female child is raised/presented as a male for the benefit of the family, and is a portrait of the oppression of females in Afghanistan.

The film opens with a shot of Zaid bandage binding his chest. This portrayal makes sense in context, although it is worth noting the lack of a post-film warning that such binding is unsafe.

Moving on, footage of Afghanistan is shown, including acts of violence and vandalised images of women (also seen in Transition). As this footage plays, Zaid reads out a poem about persecution and gender equality, noting the mistreatment of women and the othering of those with differences.

Zaid is reading this poem to a class of boys, and his male teacher. He is mocked for his message, and counselled by his teacher to be more cautious with his words; he puts himself, and his family, at risk with his provocative agenda. After issuing this warning, however, the teacher tells Zaid that he is ready to take his entrance exam.

Zaid is then shown working, earning money for his family, before returning home to his mother and sister, Marjane. He has no male relatives.

That night, he sneaks out to meet his secret girlfriend, the pair kissing and exchanging affectionate words before almost being caught by her family. It is clear that Zaid has found freedom, comfort, and identity within his male role, whether because he is a masculine lesbian or a female-attracted trans man. He hopes to continue living as a man, study, be with the young woman that he loves, and keep his male friends.

Prior to sneaking out, however, his mother informs him that he must get married. He has reached puberty, therefore bacha posh is no longer appropriate or feasible. He refuses, saying that he is disgusted by the idea of marriage, but is ignored.

When he wakes up the next day, his mother insists that he wear a dress. She also takes away Marjane's stuffed toy and cuts the young girl's hair short, saying, "We need a new man". Marjane cries, distressed by the loss of her female role, and by the new expectations of the bacha posh role. Unlike Zaid, she does not want to live as the male gender.

Marjane reminds me of Hana in the 2015 film Sworn Virgin. Hana becomes Mark, adhering to the Balkan social role of a burrnesha, and finds this male role to be unwanted and restrictive. Much like Hana, and unlike Zaid, Marjane's transition to maleness is uncomfortable and undesired, illustrating the clear difference in Zaid's innate identity. Zaid does actually wish to live as a man.

When Zaid next wants to leave the home, he must ask for Marjane's permission. Marjane, now being addressed as Merhan by her mother, is uncomfortable inhabiting this role and does not know how to act. In public, Zaid wears a burqa while Marjan presents as a boy.

As soon as possible, Zaid ducks into an alleyway and abandons his female attire. Telling Marjane to wait for him, he sneaks off to attend his entrance exam.

After seeing her stuffed toy in the hands of another child, Marjane begins to cry, lamenting the loss of her girlhood. Two men approach her, addressing her as "boy" and insisting that men do not cry. She cries out, "I don't want to be a man," ominously foreshadowing what is about to occur. She cannot maintain the ruse.

Interrupting Zaid's entrance exam, the men drag Marjane into the school, holding Zaid's female attire. "We have a situation with this student," one of the men yells. Gesturing to the attire, he asks, "Is this yours?" As Marjane sobs, and Zaid remains frozen still in horror, he continues, "Disguising at your age, shame on you! You deserve to be whipped!"

Marjane cries out to her brother, using his male name in defiance of how he currently being gendered, but it is too late. A sister's love cannot stop what is about to occur.

We hear Zaid being lashed before a yelling crowd, screaming out in pain. Even without visuals, this scene is gut-wrenching.

Zaid is next shown unspeaking, traumatised, still physically healing, and being forcibly dressed in a wedding veil. He sits in silence as he is married to a much older man, and the film ends with a devastatingly silent shot. Confetti falls as the new couple sit emotionlessly beside each other, Zaid's face and identity erased.

I find this to be a beautiful, and very progressive, portrait of innate non-conformity in a socially conservative context. As stated previously, that non-conformity may be centrally about gender and/or sexuality. We know that Zaid is attracted to women, and we know that Zaid wishes to live as a man. Zaid could indeed be a man... or a woman with no other way of loving other women.

Either way, I view this as an important part of trans male and female masculinity-focused media history, especially as a way of highlighting the experiences of trans men like Arsham.