An Afghan woman's life expectancy is just 44 years, and her life cycle often begins and ends in disappointment: being born a girl and finally, having a daughter of her own. For some, disguising themselves as boys is the only way to get ahead.
Nordberg follows women such as Azita Rafaat, a parliamentarian who once lived as a Bacha Posh, the mother of seven-year-old Mehran, who she is raising as a Bacha Posh as well, but for different reasons than in the past. There's Zahra, a teenage student living as a boy who is about to display signs of womanhood as she enters puberty. And Skukria, a hospital nurse who remained in a Bacha Posh disguise until she was twenty, and who now has three children of her own.
Exploring the historical roots of this tradition, The Underground Girls of Kabul is a fascinating and moving investigation.
- ISBN10 1844087743
- ISBN13 9781844087747
- Publish Date 30 September 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
- Publish Status Withdrawn
- Out of Print 29 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
- Imprint Virago Press Ltd
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 368
- Language English