The Underground Girls of Kabul

17.00

Title: Kabul Underground Girls

Author: Jenny Nordberg

Translator: Isan Shamoosi

Publisher: Backpack

Subject: Afghan women, social status

Age category: Adult

Cover: Paperback

Number of pages: 368 p

Language: Farsi

Qty:
Comparison
Category:

Description

The Underground Girls of Kabul (The Hidden Life of Afghan Girls Under the Boyish Dress) by Jenny Nordberg, which has brought many honors and awards to its creator, it deals with the lives of Afghan women who have to deny their gender and dress and behave like men for a more comfortable life.

In Afghanistan, there is a completely masculine culture and everything is ruled by men to the extent that the birth of a boy brings joy, celebration and joy, but this is not the case for girls and the birth of a girl is a disgrace and a good future awaits They are not.

Jenny Nordberg is an experienced journalist who provides a powerful and compelling account of the lives and destinies of girls dressed as men and traveling around the city. Of course, it goes without saying that such an act has a long history in Afghanistan and is referred to as “baby clothes”.

The Underground Girls of Kabul, which describes the challenges of this lifestyle, has vivid and significant characters that bring the book to life. For example, Azita, who is herself a member of parliament, inevitably names her fourth daughter Mehran and raises her like a boy. Zahra is also a teenager who is struggling with puberty and is not willing to live like a girl. Shukria has lived like a man for twenty years and now has three children and ….

This readable and fascinating book is compiled in four main sections and is a painful narrative of the lives of women who are born as ominous and disgraceful creatures and live like men to survive in society, and ultimately, their culture and society force them to Go back to the closets of the house and think only of marriage and childbirth.

Kabul Underground Girls Book Honors:

– The best book of 2014 selected by Publishers Weekly
Nominated for Best Unknown Book of 2014 by Goodreads
– Winner of the Anthony Lucas Book Award in 2015
– One of the best nonfiction books by Bazfid in 2014
– The best Business Insider book in 2014
– The best Columbus Dispatch book in 2014
– The best book of publishers’ weekly in 2014
– The best pop meters book in 2014

Kabul Underground Girls Book Excerpts:

– Jenny Nordberg has written a prominent and diverse work that examines the current situation of Afghan women through one of their subcultures. (Washington Post)

Nordberg’s intimate discoveries lead us to search for his brave subjects. (Mother Jones)

– A stunning book … Nordberg has done an amazing job in this unique, important and fascinating chronicle.

Selected sentences of Kabul Underground Girls book:
– Know that the human body is nothing more than clothes; Put on the clothes, his wearer is nothing but a dervish.

– The rule of oppression and tyranny will lead to war and bloodshed.

The female brain was particularly prone to be conquered by poetry and books, but the male brain could focus and work better to solve problems and deliver results.

In a part of Kabul Underground Girls book, we read:

At five o’clock in the morning he gets up with difficulty from the long mattress and through the large, pillowcases he has spread out in the middle of the living room. The same reception room is also a bedroom.

Before he goes to the children and before he prepares them for today’s work, he recounts vivid memories in his mind, and his goal is to recall five very good minutes from yesterday’s moments and awaken his soul with the same good thoughts. . Maybe the moment he was giving a speech and none of the MPs interrupted him, or the moment when one of his four daughters showed him a new painting and how beautiful it was!

He then walks down the hallway to wake his four daughters, who are lying on folding beds with bedspreads of the famous Pooh bear. Mehrangiz and Mehran usually fight over going to the bathroom. These twins should eat some yogurt and leftover bread from yesterday. Mehran will not eat breakfast, but will probably bring a small bite, a sugar cookie or an orange.

His three older daughters wear short black shirts and white scarves over their beautiful ponytails. The youngest has pants, a white shirt and a red tie, and all four girls each have a uniform plastic backpack.

Who do we recommend reading the book to?
If you like to read real life stories of women in Afghanistan, if you are interested in studying sociology and women’s rights, Kabul Underground Girls is a great choice.

Part of the book Kabul Underground Girls
“Our brother is actually a girl.”

One of the twins nods to reaffirm his words, then turns to his sister, who agrees. Yes that’s right. He also confirms this.

They are identical ten-year-old twins with black hair, squirrel-like eyes and a slight cocoon on their face. Moments ago, as we waited for their mother to finish her conversation in the other room, we danced to my iPod songs and exchanged headphones to show off our best dance, although I could not adjust to the clever rotation of their backs – parts of this Joint dancing could be admirable.

In the murmur of concrete buildings and cold corridors, like the ice of Soviet-style apartments, every sound is reflected; Homes that are now home to middle-class Kabul families.

Now we are sitting on the gold-plated furniture in front of which the twins are arranging the tea service; Glass cups and tea flasks on a silver-lined tray. The guest house is the most decorated luxury room in the homes of Afghans.

Of course, to show the wealth and moral character of its owner. Cassette tapes of Quranic verses and yellow and red cloth flowers can be seen on the table in the corner of the room; The crack of the table has also been repaired with glue. The twin sisters, while hiding their feet under the sofa, are a little upset by my lack of reaction to their bold presence.

The number two twin leans forward and says, “That’s right, that boy is our younger sister.”

I smile at them, nod again, and say, “Yes, definitely.”

The framed photo on the side table is a photo of their brother in a seven-collar shirt and tie with his smiling mustache father. This is the only visible photo in the living room. Older girls are more or less fluent in English and speak it fluently. They have learned English from textbooks and satellite channels that can be seen on the balcony. Language may be our only obstacle here.

To be more intimate and kind, I say, “Very well, children, I understand; That boy is your sister. “Now your violet, tell me what is your favorite color?”

She steps back a little, embarrassed, turns red and white, and passes the question on to her other sister to think about more. The twins are wearing orange wool jackets and green shorts. It seems that they do everything with these clothes to have a completely girly look at the same time. Both girls have flashy hairpins tied around their hair and shake their heads constantly as they speak; The tension in their heads only stops when the other person starts talking.

Excerpts from Kabul Underground Girls Book (text pleasure)
“Our brother is basically a girl.” One of the twins nods to reaffirm his words, then turns to his sister, who agrees. Yes that’s right. He also confirms this. They are identical ten-year-old twins with black hair, squirrel-like eyes and a slight freckle on the face. Moments ago, as we waited for their mother to finish her conversation in the other room, we danced to my iPod songs and exchanged headphones to show our best dance, although I could not adjust to the clever rotation of their backs. – Parts of this joint dance could be admired.

In the maze of concrete buildings and cold corridors, like the ice of Soviet-style apartments, every sound is reflected;
Homes that are now home to middle-class Kabul families. Now we are sitting on the gold-plated furniture in front of which the twins are arranging the tea service; Glass cups and tea flasks on a silver-lined tray. The guest house is the most ornate luxury room in Afghan homes, albeit to show off the wealth and moral character of its owner. Tape tapes of Quranic verses and yellow and red cloth flowers can be seen on a table in the corner of the room; The cracks in the table have also been repaired with glue.

The twin sisters, with their legs hidden under the sofa, are a little upset by my lack of reaction to their bold presence. The number two twin leans forward and says, “That’s right, that boy is our younger sister.” I smile at them, nod again, and say, “Yes, definitely.” The framed photo on the side table is a photo of their brother in a seven-collar shirt and tie with their smiling mustache father.

This is the only photo visible in the living room. Older girls are more or less fluent in English and speak it fluently. They have learned English from textbooks and satellite channels that can be seen on the balcony. Language may be our only obstacle here. To be more intimate and kind, I say, “Very well, children, I understand; That boy is your sister.
“Now your violet, tell me what is your favorite color?” She steps back a little, embarrassed, blushes and passes the question to her other sister to think about more. The twins are wearing orange wool jackets and green shorts. It seems that they do everything with these clothes to have a completely girlish look at the same time. Both girls have flashy hairpins tied around their hair and constantly shake their heads as they talk; Their heads stop only when the other person starts talking.

Learn more about Jenny Nordberg:

Jenny Nordberg holds a bachelor’s degree in law and journalism and graduated from Stockholm University. Due to his interest in the press, he continued his postgraduate studies in journalism. Jenny is a well-known and controversial journalist and has gained a lot of fame for writing the book Kabul Underground Girls.

Related books

1- Introducing the book  on YouTube

2- Introducing the book  in Aparat

Additional information

نویسنده
Translator

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Show only reviews in English (0)

Be the first to review “The Underground Girls of Kabul”

Your email address will not be published.