 Zoya's Story
Zoya with John Follain & Rita Cristofari
(Harper Collins, 2002)
Though she is only 23, Zoya has witnessed and endured more tragedy and terror
than most people experience in a lifetime. Born in a land ravaged by war, she
was robbed of her parents when they were murdered by Muslim fundamentalists.
Devastated, she fled Kabul with her grandmother and started a new life in
exile in Pakistan. She joined the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan (RAWA), an organization that challenged the crushing edicts of the
Taliban government, and she took destiny into her own hands, joining a dangerous,
clandestine war to save her nation.
Direct and unsentimental, Zoya vividly brings to life the realities of
growing up in a Muslim culture, the terror of living in a perpetual war zone, the
pain of losing those she has loved, the horrors of a woman's life under the
Taliban, and the discovered healing and transformation that lead her on a path of
resistance.
"A stirring memoir by an uncompromising, brave woman." --Booklist
"Her narrative voice is quick and clear, making her recollections of the
breathtaking violence she has witnessed nail-bitingly vivid and her descriptions
of her struggle candid and poignant." --Publishers Weekly
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 With All Our Strength
Anne Brodsky
(Routledge, 2003)
The events of September 11 catapulted Afghanistan and the plight of Afghan
women under Taliban fundamentalism to the from pages of the world press. While
the attention was new, the crisis for Afghan women has been ongoing for
decades. Since their founding in 1977, members of The Revolutionary Association of
the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) have risked life and limb daily to help their
tortured sisters in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
With All Our Strength is the inside story of this women-led underground
organization and their fight for the rights of Afghan women. Anne Brodsky, the
first writer given in-depth access to meet and interview their members, Afghan
supporters, and the people they serve as well as visit their operations in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, shines light on the gruesome lives of Afghan women under
some of the most brutal sexist oppression in the world. Amazingly, though there
are many tragic stories here, there are also stories of courage, incredible
resilience, and even triumph.
A skilled interviewer, observer, and writer, Brodsky chronicles how RAWA
members, whose identities have been concealed in order to survive, have run
schools and orphanages, supplied medical care in secret, and covertly documented
fundamentalist atrocities against Afghan women through cameras hidden in their
clothes. Since the toppling of the Taliban, RAWA continues its important work,
not only helping women and children survive the aftermath of years of abuse,
but continuing to fight for human rights, equality for women, and a free and
democratic Afghanistan.
An impassioned, riveting account of RAWA's twenty-six year struggle to build
empowerment, hope and resistance among the girls and women of Afghanistan,
With All our Strength is a paean to the resilience of Afghan women and a model
for women's and human rights organizations around the world.
"The work of RAWA must stand as a model for every group that struggles
against the twin evils of oppression and violence. Brodsky's account reveals the
boundless courage of these warrior women, who have fought for basic human dignity
while the rest of the world looked away." --Eve Ensler
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 Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan
Melody Ermachild Chavis
(St. Martin's Press, 2003)
Foreword by Alice Walker
Meena founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan in
1977 as a twenty-year-old Kabul university student. She was assassinated in
1987 at age 30, and lives on in the hearts of all progressive Muslim women. Her
voice, speaking for freedom, has never been silenced. The compelling story of
Meena's struggle for democracy and women's rights in Afghanistan will inspire
young women the world over.
Meena, Heroine of Afghanistan is the portrait of a courageous mother, poet,
and leader who symbolizes an entire movement of women that can influence the
fate of nations. It is also a riveting account of a singular political career
whose legacy has been inherited by RAWA, the women who hold the keys to a
peaceful future for Afghanistan. RAWA has authorized this first-ever biography of
their martyred leader.
"Meena: a life, a country, Afghanistan, a woman's life, women's lives,
bravery and determination to educate girls and young women in the face of the
cruelest oppression. After Meena's murder, the women inspired by her, despite great
danger, continue the work. An important book." --Grace Paley
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 Bleeding Afghanistan
Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence
Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls
(Seven Stories, 2006)
Foreword by Alice Walker
“If you want the real story behind the U.S. War in Afghanistan, read this book now! Kolhatkar and Ingalls show how this war has neither improved the security of Americans, nor liberated the people of Afghanistan. A wake-up call to everyone who thought the war was a success story.” --Eve Ensler
“Bleeding Afghanistan is a crystal clear window on the events in Afghanistan over the past three decades and especially the past few years. By uncovering the core problems of the Afghan people and the true nature of its enemies, the writers prove to be true friends.” --Malalai Joya, member of the Afghan Parliament
"[Bleeding Afghanistan] has everything you need to know—the history of foreign intervention, the depredations of the warlords and the Taliban, the U.S. bombing, and the stultifying negligence of the occupation. The authors even have the guts to tackle the most difficult question of all —what should be done now. A remarkable achievement." --Rahul Mahajan, author of Full Spectrum Dominance: U.S. Power in Iraq and Beyond
“This is no Bookseller of Kabul or The Kite Runner. It is not for latte-drinking liberals who want to save exotic Afghan women or men. It’s about what America is really doing today in Afghanistan after the Taliban was ousted, and what we did before.” --Pratap Chatterjee, author of Iraq, Inc.: A Profitable Occupation and Director of CorpWatch
"Meena: a life, a country, Afghanistan, a woman's life, women's lives,
bravery and determination to educate girls and young women in the face of the
cruelest oppression. After Meena's murder, the women inspired by her, despite great
danger, continue the work. An important book." --Grace Paley
Bleeding Afghanistan tells the story of a country’s struggle for stability and autonomy against foreign intervention and religious fundamentalism.
Despite official claims of successfully establishing democracy and women’s freedom, Afghanistan has yet to emerge from the ashes of decades-long war, say Sonali Kolhatkar and James Ingalls.
In the years following 9/11, U.S. policy in Afghanistan has not received adequate scrutiny, either from the media or the public. Also unexamined is the U.S. role in Afghanistan long before American bombs fell on Kabul on October 7th 2001. Released in time for the fifth anniversary of the start of the War on Terror, Bleeding Afghanistan digs into a disturbing history in which the U.S. has tolerated the Taliban, supported violent warlords, and now installed a puppet democracy.
Co-directors of the Afghan Women’s Mission, Kolhatkar and Ingalls also show that U.S. media depictions of women’s “liberation” are a myth. In reality, outside Kabul, women still live under the threat of fundamentalist violence and their political voices have been silenced. For Kolhatkar and Ingalls, the objectification of Afghan women in the media not only serve as an excuse for war, but reinforce negative Western stereotypes of Muslim culture. The authors extend this critique to coverage of the entire war, illustrating how it has supported government actions, rather than reported on them.
Why did the United States invade Afghanistan in 2001, and how does it benefit from remaining there? How much has an appetite for imperial prestige and control over an important region dictated U.S. involvement during, before and after 9-11? In what ways did the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan serve as a stepping stone to and a precedent for Iraq? All of these questions are thoroughly investigated, drawing from declassified government documents and on-the-ground interviews with Afghan activists, journalists, lawyers, students.
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