Torunn Wimpelmann
Research Director, CMITorunn Wimpelmann is a political ethnographer whose current focus is on the intersections between gender, political and legal orders in contemporary Afghanistan.
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A joint initiative between the University of Bergen
and CMI – Chr. Michelsen Institute
BIFF: The secret reading club of Kabul
16.10.2026
08:30 - 09:30English
The struggle for women’s rights and the risks taken by those operating in the shadows to resist the regime.
‘The Secret Reading Club of Kabul’ courtesy of CPH:DOX The movie “The secret reading club of Kabul” by Shakiba Adil and Elina Hirvonen follows three young Afghan women who will secretly gather to form a book club and report their daily lives under the Taliban regime.
Torunn Wimpelmann (CMI) and one of the main protagonist of the movie will investigate the repression that women face under the Taliban. They will highlight the ongoing struggle for women’s rights and the risks taken by those operating in the shadows to resist the regime.
All are welcome!
Watch the film at Bergen International Film Festival 15, 19 and 21 October.
This is a collaboration with Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) and Centre on Law and Social Transformation.
Event info.
Bergen GlobalJekteviksbakken 31, Bergen
16.10.2026
08:30 - 09:30
English
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Torunn Wimpelmann
Research Director, CMI
Torunn Wimpelmann is a political ethnographer whose current focus is on the intersections between gender, political and legal orders in contemporary Afghanistan.
Torunn Wimpelmann completed her PhD on gender violence in Afghanistan (SOAS). Her main field of research is gender politics and legal reform in Afghanistan, where she has done several years of fieldwork.
She is the author of The Pitfalls of Protection. Gender, Violence and Power in Afghanistan ( University of California Press, 2017) and has published in Central Asian Survey, Women’s Studies International Forum , Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, Men and Masculinities and the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, as well as various University Presses.
Wimpelmann is currently researching the relationships between law, religion and Afghan gender politics and activism.
Bergen Global is a joint initiative between the University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute that addresses global challenges.
