Jenny Nordberg, the reporter who broke this story for The New York Times , constructs a dramatic account of Afghan women and girls clandestinely living on the other side of the gender divide that grants half its population almost no rights and little freedom. The book is anchored by vivid female characters who bring this ancient phenomenon to life: Offering a new and original story about Afghanistan and its women, The Underground Girls of Kabul investigates the hidden practice of bacha posh that has affected generations, while examining its parallels to our own history.
The act of reaching for more freedom by impersonating a man is one that can be recognized by women everywhere. The Underground Girls of Kabul is now available in paperback. What do you do if you are in a war zone and you see something that you absolutely do not understand?
And also, by the way, that you should leave. You will also begin to wonder what else we may be missing, and if there might be more to Afghanistan than the often-told story of victims and perpetrators; of suppression and fundamentalism; of good and evil.
Of men and women. Those questions have been on my mind for the past five years, and have become this book. I had to remain inside a deeply conservative society and explore questions about religion, gender and sexuality — all forbidden topics in Afghanistan.
And how we have gone about it. Some extremely brave Afghan women have revealed their most intimate secrets to me for this book.
