Powerful statements by Afghan women desperate for a better life in their war-torn nation have been revealed with the help of Australian artists.
Sixty handkerchiefs made by 20 Australian artists were sent to Afghan women during the war, before the Taliban took over.
On each handkerchief an Afghan woman sewed, printed or embroidered a response through text and images.
Those returned to Australia bore messages including "my aim is to become a judge", "our country needs peace" and "I want to live in freedom forever".
The handkerchiefs will become part of the Australian War Memorial's national collection to represent the lives of women during the war.
Afghan participant Mursal Rahimi said the exchange meant a lot to her.
"It was amazing that women from two different countries with very different levels of education, with different languages, and very different cultures worked together very closely and provided such wonderful artworks," she said.
Project founder Gali Weiss said she felt a responsibility over Australia's involvement in the war in Afghanistan, to connect with women living through hardship and adversity.
"What I saw started as an art project evolved into something much greater, it's about the voices of women," Dr Weiss said.
"The handkerchiefs show the presence of us (Australians) both in the objects."
Dr Weiss said she saw the loss of almost 20 handkerchiefs that never made it back to Australia, as a demonstration of the instability in Afghanistan.
"We just don't know what happened to them," she said.
Memorial director Matt Anderson said the treasured additions convey universal messages of hope, pain, and resilience.
"The collection has found the right home to share this important message with Australia, messages of connection and friendship, but most importantly, solidarity between two cultures," he said.
