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_askthebookbug 's review for:
Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son
by Homeira Qaderi
// Dancing in the Mosque by @homeiraqaderi
Afghanistan's beauty and rich cultural heritage is often buried under conflicts and wars. When one authority leaves, another takes its place, making it impossible for the native Afghans to live in peace. This memoir by Homeira Qaderi is a candid and more so a painful account of her struggle in Herat. Life in the tumultuous Afghanistan is difficult but almost intolerable for the women under the Taliban rule. But before them there were the Russians, air raids and enough destruction to last for a lifetime. Homeira's story is just one amongst the thousands of unfortunate women who live trapped lives. To be heard, rescued and acknowledged.
Homeira was a rebel even as a child, something that was seen as a problem by those around her. But her father encouraged her to do things that was usually allowed only for boys. He pushed her to read novels, to tell stories for they had the power to change perceptions. Homeira grew up when the Russians were everywhere in Herat, where bullets flew like confetti and bodies dropped like rag dolls, including her aunt's. When she was 10, she witnessed sexual assault by a soldier on her neighbour, she stood up against the Maulwi who was a lecher and spoke her mind about how she felt. When the Russians went away, she was there to watch the Talibans trickle into her city. She watched with horror as the Sharia law was passed and slowly understood how women had no say at all. To read about their cruelty was spine-chilling. There were rapes, forced marriages and polygamy; an entire system where men ruled over the women.
At the time she writes this book, Homeira is in the States, away from her son. She is cut off from her family, with no access to speak to the child. It's heartbreaking to read her story about being alienated by her loved ones. The memoir although very gripping had an abrupt end. There's not much that tells us about Homeira's move to the States.
But it still is an important read. One that glaringly calls out everything that is happening wrong in their country.
Afghanistan's beauty and rich cultural heritage is often buried under conflicts and wars. When one authority leaves, another takes its place, making it impossible for the native Afghans to live in peace. This memoir by Homeira Qaderi is a candid and more so a painful account of her struggle in Herat. Life in the tumultuous Afghanistan is difficult but almost intolerable for the women under the Taliban rule. But before them there were the Russians, air raids and enough destruction to last for a lifetime. Homeira's story is just one amongst the thousands of unfortunate women who live trapped lives. To be heard, rescued and acknowledged.
Homeira was a rebel even as a child, something that was seen as a problem by those around her. But her father encouraged her to do things that was usually allowed only for boys. He pushed her to read novels, to tell stories for they had the power to change perceptions. Homeira grew up when the Russians were everywhere in Herat, where bullets flew like confetti and bodies dropped like rag dolls, including her aunt's. When she was 10, she witnessed sexual assault by a soldier on her neighbour, she stood up against the Maulwi who was a lecher and spoke her mind about how she felt. When the Russians went away, she was there to watch the Talibans trickle into her city. She watched with horror as the Sharia law was passed and slowly understood how women had no say at all. To read about their cruelty was spine-chilling. There were rapes, forced marriages and polygamy; an entire system where men ruled over the women.
At the time she writes this book, Homeira is in the States, away from her son. She is cut off from her family, with no access to speak to the child. It's heartbreaking to read her story about being alienated by her loved ones. The memoir although very gripping had an abrupt end. There's not much that tells us about Homeira's move to the States.
But it still is an important read. One that glaringly calls out everything that is happening wrong in their country.