This is non-fiction, based on real life events as told to the author.
Kamila is the second-oldest of a large family of mainly girls in Kabul during the take-over by the Taliban, and here she tells of what it was really like to live under that regime.
When her father left home to avoid imprisonment for supporting the previous regime, she took responsibility for the family and started a business making and selling women's clothes to support the family. She also began a project to teach women sewing, so they could help themselves in a society where there were so many widows, yet women were forbidden to work, be educated or even talk to men who were not relations. Her life was fraught with danger, especially when she later began to branch out and join an internationally funded project to help local people.
This is a fascinating account, if a bit depressing at times (though there is a happy ending) and the events certainly ring true when compared to other books I've read on the subject. It's the everyday details of people's lives that are so captivating, though I feel the tone is a bit pedestrian at times and some of the time frames are a bit confusing and less plausible, but these are minor quibbles. Kamila is certainly an inspiring person who deserves our attention and praise for her courage and hard work.
No comments:
Post a Comment