Land of the Unconquerable : The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women

Reaching beyond sensational headlines, __Land of the Unconquerable__ at last offers a three-dimensional portrait of Afghan women. In a series of wide-ranging, deeply reflective essays, accomplished scholars, humanitarian workers, politicians, and journalists—most with extended experience inside Afghanistan—examine the realities of life for women in both urban and rural settings. They address topics including food security, sex work, health, marriage, education, poetry, politics, prisoners, and community development. Eschewing stereotypes about the burqa, the contributors focus instead on women’s empowerment and agency, and their struggles for peace and justice in the face of a brutal ongoing war. A fuller picture of Afghanistan’s women past and present emerges, leading to social policy suggestions and pragmatic solutions for a peaceful future. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. Perceptions and Realities CHAPTER 1. The Politics of Zan from Amanullah to Karzai: Lessons for Improving Afghan Women’s Status CHAPTER 2. Between Covered and Covert: Traditions, Stereo types, and Afghan Women’s Agency CHAPTER 3. Centuries of Threat, Centuries of Resistance: The Lessons of Afghan Women’s Resilience CHAPTER 4. Don’t Say What, Who, and When, Say How: Community Development and Women CHAPTER 5. Afghanistan Blues: Seeing Beyond the Burqa on YouTube PART II. A Woman’s Place CHAPTER 6. Women’s Political Presence: A Path to Promoting Gender Interests? CHAPTER 7. Voices of Parliamentarians: Four Women MPs Share Their Thoughts CHAPTER 8. Nothing Left to Lose: Women in Prison CHAPTER 9. Selling Sex in Afghanistan: Portraits of Sex Workers in Kabul CHAPTER 10. Between Choice and Force: Marriage Practices in Afghanistan PART III. To Be Whole in Body and Mind CHAPTER 11. The Hidden War against Women: Health Care in Afghanistan CHAPTER 12. Challenges to Cripple the Spirit: A Midwife’s Experiences CHAPTER 13. Women with Disabilities: Recollections from Across the Decades CHAPTER 14. A Question of Access: Women and Food Security CHAPTER 15. Psychological Impacts of War: Human Rights and Mental Health PART IV. Making the Rubble Bloom CHAPTER 16. Mending Afghanistan Stitch by Stitch: How Traditional Crafts and Social Organization Advance Afghan Women CHAPTER 17. Rural Women’s Livelihood: Their Position in the Agrarian Economy CHAPTER 18. Chadari Politics Translating Perceptions into Policy and Practice CHAPTER 19. When the Picture Does Not Fit the Frame: Engaging Afghan Men in Women’s Empowerment PART V. “Don’t Eclipse My Happy New Moon” CHAPTER 20. Empowering Women through Education: Recipe for Success CHAPTER 21. From Both Sides of the Mic: Women and the Media CHAPTER 22. Painting Their Way into the Public World: Women and the Visual Arts CHAPTER 23. A Hidden Discourse: Afghanistan’s Women Poets EPILOGUE: Great Expectations CHAPTER 24. Hopes and Dreams: Interviews with Young Afghans Selected Bibliography About the Contributors Index The politics of Zan from Amanullah to Karzai: lessons for improving Afghan women's status / Sbireen Khan Burki Between covered and covert: traditions, stereotypes, and Afghan women's agency / Margaret A. Mills Centuries of threat, centuries of resistance: the lessons of Afghan women's resilience / Anne E. Brodsky Don't say what, who, and when, say how: community development and women / Wahid Omar Afghanistan blues: seeing beyond the Burqa on Youtube / Dinah Zeiger "Women's political presence: a path to promoting gender interests? / Anna Larson Voices of parliamentarians: four women MPs share their thoughts / Massouda Jalal ... [et al.] Nothing left to lose: women in prison / Lizette Potgieter Selling sex in Afghanistan: portraits of sex workers in Kabul / Alisa Tang Between choice and force: marriage practices in Afghanistan / Deborah J. Smith The hidden war against women: health care in Afghanistan / Sima Samar Challenges to cripple the spirit: a midwife's experiences / Pamela Chandler Women with disabilities: recollections from across the decades / Mary Macmakin A question of access: women and food security / Elizabeth Stites Psychological impacts of war: human rights and mental health / Nahid Aziz Mending Afghanistan stitch by stitch: how traditional crafts and social organization advance Afghan women / Rachel Lehr Rural women's livelihood: their position in the agrarian economy / Jo Grace, Adam Pain Chadari politics: translating perceptions into policy and practice / Lina Abirafeh When the picture does not fit the frame: engaging afghan men in women's empowerment / Ashraf Zahedi Empowering women through education: recipe for success / Sakena Yacoobi From both sides of the mic: women and the media / Aunohita Mojumdar Painting their way into the public world: women and the visual arts / Lauryn Oates A hidden discourse: Afghanistan's women poets / Zuzanna Olszewska Hopes and dreams: interviews with young Afghans / Amina Kator.

Reaching beyond sensational headlines, Land of the Unconquerable at last offers a three-dimensional portrait of Afghan women.
In a series of wide-ranging, deeply reflective essays, accomplished scholars, humanitarian workers, politicians, and journalists-most with extended experience inside Afghanistan-examine the realities of life for women in both urban and rural settings. They address topics including food security, sex work, health, marriage, education, poetry, politics, prisoners, and community development. Eschewing stereotypes about the burqa, the contributors focus instead on women's empowerment and agency, and their struggles for peace and justice in the face of a brutal ongoing war. A fuller picture of Afghanistan's women past and present emerges, leading to social policy suggestions and pragmatic solutions for a peaceful future.

Reaching beyond sensational headlines, Land of the Unconquerable at last offers a three-dimensional portrait of Afghan women. In a series of wide-ranging, deeply reflective essays, accomplished scholars, humanitarian workers, politicians, and journalists—most with extended experience inside Afghanistan—examine the realities of life for women in both urban and rural settings. They address topics including food security, sex work, health, marriage, education, poetry, politics, prisoners, and community development. Eschewing stereotypes about the burqa, the contributors focus instead on women’s empowerment and agency, and their struggles for peace and justice in the face of a brutal ongoing war. A fuller picture of Afghanistan’s women past and present emerges, leading to social policy suggestions and pragmatic solutions for a peaceful future. Offers a three-dimensional portrait of Afghan women. This title examines the realities of life for women in both urban and rural settings. It addresses topics including food security, sex work, health, marriage, education, poetry, politics, prisoners, and community development. Reaching beyond sensational headlines, this book offers a three-dimensional portrait of Afghan women. In a series of wide-ranging, deeply reflective essays, this book examines the realities of life for women in both urban and rural settings