The Taliban insurgency has entered its 16th year in Afghanistan, but their chances of controlling the country remain weak due to the lack of a broad national support for their cause. Staunch sympathizers comprise less than 10 percent of the Afghan population and 93 percent see the Taliban as the biggest threat to their safety and lives, according to the book “We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope.” In recent years, ordinary Afghans have taken up arms and driven them out of their localities in different part of the country.
Since 2001, the country’s legal framework has improved to better protect women against violence and harassment. Millions of Afghan girls go to school, women have access to health care services and even have some level of political representation. These stories form an inspiring book, published by the George W. Bush Institute, which showcases the lives of women from different age groups and professions.
All have become leaders in their communities or their professions. Each woman is her own success story and each has her own remarkable tale to tell, explains Laura Bush in the introduction. All the women are committed to their homeland and they express themselves with sincerity. I laughed and cried more than once and, most of all, I marveled at their extraordinary courage and their staunch resolve.
The first story is one of the most beautiful in this book. Zainularab Miri tells us how she and six other women agreed to help girls who were not allowed to go to school. Families of these girls would provide rooms and even sleeping spaces inside their homes. They would teach for one day, or sometimes for a few days, in these hidden rooms. “Each person in those rooms, each person in those houses was risking their lives. If the Taliban found out, we would have surely faced death,” Miri said in the book. She also tells of how she dreamt of being a bee keeper, a traditionally male job in the country. “But that only made me more passionate to learn the business… I started by buying two hives. Once I had my two hives, I wanted to expand. I was paid as much money for my nectar and honey as the male beekeepers were,” Miri said.
For Miri, women living under the Taliban were like queen bees — trapped in a hive with no escape. The bees build their honeycomb in the darkness just as women survived by working in darkness, behind curtains or under the cover of cloth.
“Each season, watching my bees leave and fly off and then return laden with sweet nectar for honey fired in me a passion to be able to move about freely. But not just for me, for as many women as I could find. I believe that in order to change a country, first you must work on the women,” Miri said.
Today, Miri is the head of the Ghazni Province Foundation of Women Beekeepers. She is also the secretary for the Afghan Beekeepers Society, making her a member of the beekeepers’ council of elders.
Mindsets are changing and a better future is possible because Afghan women know they deserve better and are willing to fight for a brighter future. Belquis Gavagan showed her courage and patriotic feelings at an early age. She turned seven-years-old the day the Russians entered Kabul. She soon discovered that she could no longer climb to her favorite spot at the top of a hill to enjoy one of the best views of Kabul. The Russians took over the hill and established a military base. The next day, on her way to school, Belquis took a rock and threw it at a tank. A soldier leaped out of the tank and chased her but she escaped and managed to hide in a shop.
Gavagan highlights the importance of education and economic empowerment. Up to 87 percent of Afghan women have been subjected to some form of abuse. However, after vocational training, women are respected more because they earn an income, according to the book.
She also makes two pertinent remarks. First, she believes that you cannot separate men from women and talk about improving the plight of women. A long-lasting change to women’s lives in Afghanistan can only take place if the men are involved too.
Second, Gavagan questions the necessity of providing Afghans with college scholarships in different countries, especially in the US, because they do not always have the desired effect.
“So, everyone has to think in advance about what are the potential consequences. If you want to educate people from Kandahar and Helmand, yes, do that. I’m all for it. But send them to Kabul first. Then have them go to India or Malaysia, rather than bringing someone from those places directly to the US. I have worked with mullahs who have gone to Italy and European countries and they came back to Afghanistan more conservative than they were before,” Gavagan said.
Mina Sherzoy, the daughter of a diplomat, founded several non-profit organizations since she returned to Afghanistan in 2002. One of the most successful programs is the Artemis Project, PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, which was established by the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, US.
Mina shared the amazing success story of an illiterate woman who learned how to read, write, tailor and sew in six months. She also learned the basics of business and finance. She started sewing and bought a sewing machine through microfinance. Soon after that, she started another business. She purchased a tandoor, a round oven on which you bake flatbread. She put it in her house and told the ladies in her neighborhood not to buy from the bakery for she would charge them less.
“The most important thing, for men and for women, is economic empowerment. My passion from day one has been economic empowerment. When people are economically empowered, they can live a normal life. For example, they can pay for a doctor… They can send their children to the best schools,” Sherzoy said.
Sherzoy recognizes that the international community, thanks to their funding and assistance, has played a major role in Afghanistan. “There is no doubt in my mind that women wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for the international community. But there are flaws in what’s been done and those flaws need to be fixed. If you really want your investment to pay off, you want to make sure that person is going to benefit. You don’t just bring in 30 people to a seminar, take a picture and write a report.”
It is impossible to recount all the stories included in the book, but a program called “Turquoise Mountain” deserves special mention. It was established in 2006, with the support of Prince Charles and a generous grant from USAID, to help save Afghanistan’s centuries-old culture of art. This organization is working to train a new generation of artists in calligraphy and miniature painting, woodwork, jewelry-making and ceramics as well as architecture.
The uneven pace of change in areas affected by violence and conflict is a serious threat and a cause for alarm. However, all the women in the book are fighting for economic empowerment and more dignified lives amid the ongoing strife.
Book Review: The powerful stories of Afghan women
Book Review: The powerful stories of Afghan women
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Flows in Networks’
Authors: Lester Randolf Ford Jr. & D. R. Fulkerson
In this classic book, first published in 1962, L. R. Ford, Jr., and D. R. Fulkerson set the foundation for the study of network flow problems. The models and algorithms introduced in “Flows in Networks” are used widely today in the fields of transportation systems, manufacturing, inventory planning, image processing, and internet traffic.
The techniques presented by Ford and Fulkerson spurred the development of powerful computational tools for solving and analyzing network flow models, and also furthered the understanding of linear programming.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Planetary Climates’ by Andrew Ingersoll
This concise, sophisticated introduction to planetary climates explains the global physical and chemical processes that determine climate on any planet or major planetary satellite— from Mercury to Neptune and even large moons such as Saturn’s Titan.
Although the climates of other worlds are extremely diverse, the chemical and physical processes that shape their dynamics are the same.
As this book makes clear, the better we can understand how various planetary climates formed and evolved, the better we can understand Earth’s climate history and future.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies of North America’
- “Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects
Author: ED LAM
Dragonflies are large and beautiful insects, diverse in color and pattern. This premier field guide provides all the information you need to identify every male and female dragonfly found in North America, whether in the field, in the hand, or under the microscope.
The extensive illustrations are the heart of the book. Close-up color portraits of each species, often several times life size, show the best possible specimens for close examination.
“Dragonflies of North America” is the ultimate guide to these extraordinary insects.
What We Are Reading Today: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
- Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is an intricate, mesmerizing novel that weaves together the ordinary and the surreal, creating a tapestry of existential questions, hidden truths and unexpected journeys.
First published in 1994, the novel is often regarded as one of Murakami’s masterpieces, encapsulating his signature blend of magical realism, psychological depth, and cultural introspection.
At its heart is Toru Okada, an unassuming and somewhat disaffected man whose mundane life takes a sudden and dramatic turn when his wife, Kumiko, disappears. What begins as a straightforward search evolves into a labyrinthine journey, leading Toru to confront not only the mystery of Kumiko’s absence but also the darker forces of history, memory, and his own psyche.
Along the way, he encounters an eclectic cast of characters, each with their own enigmatic role to play in the unfolding story.
Murakami’s prose, understated yet richly evocative, guides readers through a narrative that oscillates between the real and the surreal. The novel’s structure mirrors this duality, as Toru navigates his increasingly strange reality while descending into dreamlike underworlds, mysterious wells, and symbolic landscapes.
These moments are imbued with Murakami’s distinctive sense of unease, where the boundaries of the tangible and intangible blur, leaving the reader questioning the nature of reality itself.
One of the novel’s great strengths is its ability to juxtapose the deeply personal with the historically and culturally significant.
While Toru’s story is intimate and introspective, it is interwoven with threads of Japanese history, particularly the atrocities of the Second World War. These historical narratives, told through the recollections of various characters, deepen the novel’s scope, turning it into a meditation on the lingering wounds of the past and their impact on the present.
“The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” also delves into themes of connection and alienation, power and vulnerability, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels inexplicable. Toru’s journey is not just a physical quest but a spiritual and emotional odyssey, forcing him to confront the unseen forces that shape his life and the lives of those around him.
Murakami’s use of symbolism and recurring motifs — cats, wells, and the titular wind-up bird — adds layers of mystery and interpretive richness to the novel. These elements, coupled with the novel’s nonlinear structure and surreal interludes, create a reading experience that is both immersive and disorienting, drawing readers into a world that is as unsettling as it is beautiful.
For longtime fans of Murakami, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is quintessential, showcasing the author’s ability to blend the banal with the extraordinary. For new readers, it offers an expansive introduction to his universe, though its complexity may require patience and reflection.
Ultimately, “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” is a profound exploration of the human condition — its mysteries, its contradictions, and its quiet beauty. It is a novel that refuses to offer easy answers, instead inviting readers to embrace its ambiguities and immerse themselves in its layered, dreamlike world. Murakami has crafted a story that is as haunting as it is enlightening, leaving an indelible mark on those who dare to journey into its depths.
What We Are Reading Today: ‘Galápagos’
Authors: John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin
Galápagos is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and profusely illustrated natural history of this spectacular archipelago.
Offering much more information than identification guides, the book provides detailed accounts and more than 650 color photographs of the islands’ habitats, marine life, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants, making the book a virtual nature tour of Galápagos.
Galápagos experts John Kricher and Kevin Loughlin have thoroughly revised the original text, bringing all the taxonomy up to date and adding a wealth of new information.
