Land of the Unconquerable CHINA CHINA INDIA INDIA Lahore Islamabad TAJ I KISTAN TAJ I KISTAN TAJ I KISTAN 100 Peshawar PAKISTAN PAKISTAN KONAR KONAR 100 Jalalabad Jalalabad Faizabad 50 150 mi BADAKHSHAN BADAKHSHAN LAGHMAN LAGHMAN NANGARHAR NANGARHAR NANGARHAR Taluqan Taluqan Taluqan 0 0 200 km KAPISA KAPISA TAKHAR TAKHAR TAKHAR Kabul Khost Khost Gardez PAKTIA PAKTIA LOGAR LOGAR LOGAR KABUL KABUL PuliPuli Khumri Khumri Puli Khumri Kunduz Kunduz Kunduz BAGHLAAN BAGHLAAN PAKTIKA PAKTIKA QONDUZ QONDUZ PARVAN PARVAN Charikar Charikar Pansher Valley WARDAK WARDAK WARDAK Ghazni Ghazni GHAZNI GHAZNI GHAZNI SAMANGÀN SAMANGÀN Sharif Sharif Mazar-i Mazar-i Bamiyan Jaghori Quetta BAMÌAN BAMÌAN ZABUL ZABUL BALKH BALKH UZBEKISTAN UZBEKISTAN SAR-E POL POL SAR-E POL ORUZGAN ORUZGAN Sari Pul Sari Pul Sari Pul JOWZJAN JOWZJAN Sheberghan Sheberghan KANDAHAR Kandahar AFGHANISTAN AFGHANISTAN GHOR GHOR FARYAB FARYAB FARYAB Marja HELMAND HELMAND BADGHIS BADGHIS Lashkar Gah Lashkar Gah TURKMENISTAN TURKMENISTAN FARAH FARAH NIMRUZ NIMRUZ

Herat N HERAT IRAN IRAN Land of the Unconquerable

The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women

edited by Jennifer Heath and Ashraf Zahedi

university of california press Berkeley • Los Angeles • London University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more informa- tion, visit www .ucpress.edu . University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2011 by The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data Land of the unconquerable : the lives of contempo- rary Afghan women / edited by Jennifer Heath and Ashraf Zahedi. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0- 520- 26185- 3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0- 520- 26186- 0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Women—Afghanistan—Social conditions—21st century. I. Heath, Jennifer. II. Zahedi, Ashraf, 1947– HQ1735.6.L37 2011 305.48'891593—dc22 2010039318

Manufactured in the United States of America 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on Cascades Enviro 100, a 100% post consumer waste, recycled, de- inked fi ber. FSC recycled certifi ed and processed chlorine free. It is acid free, Ecologo certifi ed, and manufactured by BioGas energy. To Nazi Etemadi, Judy Hussie-Taylor, and Soraya Omar —JKH

To Ashok Mehta —AZ

And for the women of Afghan i stan. May you soon have peace and justice. Humanity does not gradually progress from combat to combat until it arrives at universal reciprocity, where the rule of law fi nally replaces warfare; humanity installs each of its violences in a system of rules and thus proceeds from domi- nation to domination. —Michel Foucault

You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it. You must learn to see the world anew. —Albert Einstein

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifi ce, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. . . . The future is an infi nite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defi ance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvel- ous victory. —Howard Zinn