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Letters to my Daughters
In this courageous memoir, Fawzia Koofi, Afghanistan's most popular female politician, gives us her first-hand account of Afghan history through the rule of the Mujahedeen and Taliban, her experiences of the Afghanistan War, and the effects of these events on the lives of women in Afghanistan. In writing Letters to My Daughters, Fawziahas created a fresh take on Afghan society and Islam, and a gripping account of a life lived under the most harrowing of circumstances. Fawziais the nineteenth child of twenty-three in a family with seven wives. Her father was an incorruptible politician strongly attached to Afghan tradition. When he was murdered by the Mujahedeen, Fawziais illiterate mother escaped with her children and decided to send the ten-year-old Fawziato school. As the civil war raged, Fawziadodged bullets and snipers to attend class, determined to be the first person in her family to receive an education. Fawziawent on to marry a man she loved, and they had two cherished daughters, Shohra and Shaharzad. Sadly, the arrival of the Taliban spelled an end to Fawzia's freedom. Outraged and deeply saddened by the injustice she saw around her, and by the tainting of her Islamic faith, she discovered politics for herself, following in her father's footsteps. Tragically, this choice has lead to security threats to her life by Islamic extremists. Thus, Letters to My Daughtersis not only a record of her life, but also acts as a literal letter through which Fawzia can pass on her wisdom about justice and dignity to her daughters, not knowing for how long she will survive such attacks.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
About the author
Fawzia Koofi
3 books64 followersFawzia Koofi is Afghanistan's first female Parliament speaker and a noted activist for women and children’s rights. Her forthcoming book THE FAVORED DAUGHTER will be released January 3rd, 2012 by Palgrave.
Koofi is currently a leading candidate for the presidential elections in 2014 and has been quoted by the BBC, Time, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Globe and Mail, and many others. Koofi was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. Before getting elected to Parliament, Koofi was employed by UNICEF as a child protection officer from 2002 through 2004.
The mother of two girls, she lives in Kabul.
Koofi is currently a leading candidate for the presidential elections in 2014 and has been quoted by the BBC, Time, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Globe and Mail, and many others. Koofi was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. Before getting elected to Parliament, Koofi was employed by UNICEF as a child protection officer from 2002 through 2004.
The mother of two girls, she lives in Kabul.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
January 9, 2017
Wow!! Powerful! Incredible life journey and her willingness and commitment to try to improve the lives of Afghanistan women and men.
October 16, 2012
This review and more can be found on my blog
I finished reading this book (Letters to my Daughters: A Memoir) by Fawzia Koofi about a week ago and it absolutely blew me away. I think I can honestly say that it changed my life. It’s such a heart wrenching story about a woman who grew up in Afghanistan. She has seen and been through so much in her life that it put my life in perspective. She was born in 1975, so she’s only 8 years older than me, but I can’t even imagine living her life. I don’t want to give a lot away in case you guys decide to read this book (and you should!), but she lived through a war and the reign of the Taliban and was literally in death’s way every day of her life for several years.
I think the thing that threw me was that when the Taliban was ruling in the early 2000s, there were so many rules that and laws that I couldn’t believe that I was reading about something that had just happened 10 years ago. It seemed like I was reading about something that should have happened FOREVER ago. For example, under Taliban rule, a woman was not able to leave her house without a male relative present. It’s just…. shocking that there are still countries in the world that live like this.
Lastly, Fawzia Koofi is the strongest woman I have ever heard of. She has an unimaginable well of strength. She has gone through so much that I know that if I were in the same situations, there’s no way I would’ve been able to pull through. She is a huge inspiration to women all over the world.
Read this book now!!
July 20, 2021
Desde 1994 los talibanes se denomina como un movimiento islámico que inició en Kandar, Afganistán y otras ciudades de Paquistán.
Este grupo de individuos agarra como bandera la religión para dominar a través del terror y hacerse con el poder de todo un país (o de varios).
En este contexto Fawzia Koofí creció y vivió momentos felices y otros tantos amargos, en base a sus experiencias, ella quiere dejar un legado positivo a sus hijas y a las personas de su país.
"Tengo el sueño de que un día todos los seres humanos de Afganistán tengan los mismos derechos. Las niñas afganas son capaces, inteligentes y hábiles. Deberían tener todas las oportunidades posibles de educarse y participar plenamente del futuro social y político del país".
Una lectura que no te dejará indiferente y te hará agradecer las oportunidades que tenemos como mujeres en occidente.
📖📚✔️💯
Este grupo de individuos agarra como bandera la religión para dominar a través del terror y hacerse con el poder de todo un país (o de varios).
En este contexto Fawzia Koofí creció y vivió momentos felices y otros tantos amargos, en base a sus experiencias, ella quiere dejar un legado positivo a sus hijas y a las personas de su país.
"Tengo el sueño de que un día todos los seres humanos de Afganistán tengan los mismos derechos. Las niñas afganas son capaces, inteligentes y hábiles. Deberían tener todas las oportunidades posibles de educarse y participar plenamente del futuro social y político del país".
Una lectura que no te dejará indiferente y te hará agradecer las oportunidades que tenemos como mujeres en occidente.
📖📚✔️💯
March 3, 2026
I liked this more than I expected to. Some passages were genuinely difficult to read because of the level of violence, but what stayed with me is Koofi’s refusal to turn anyone into a caricature. She humanises even those aligned with the Taliban (and some Talibans), tracing how poverty, loyalty, and lack of alternatives shape choices, and that nuance makes her narration feel credible rather than rhetorical. Reading her fears from around 2010 about a potential US withdrawal, and watching her spell out exactly what she believed would follow, feels almost eerie in hindsight. She writes as someone inside the political system, trying to reform it while knowing how fragile it is. At times the editing could have been tighter and there are small factual slips, but they are minor in the larger arc of the book. If anything, what some might read as pro-US sentiment feels consistent with her lived reality and political positioning. This reads as the account of a politician who has had to survive, compromise, and calculate, while still holding on to the belief that Afghan women must have a place in shaping their country’s future. Reading this in 2026 definitely broke my heart 💔
June 6, 2011
I am very sorry to see that a woman who belong to a band of brutal warlords in Afghanistan, can fool Americans by "writing" a book.
Mrs. Kofi is a doll in the hands of a fundamentalist band of warlords called "Jamiaat-e-Islami Afghanistan" (Islamic Society of Afghanistan) led by a dreaded man called Burhanuddin Rabbani who is accused of many war crimes and brutalities during civil war.
She only exposes the Taliban, but supports the US occupation and the warlords.
I have doubt if she has really written the book, because Mrs. Kofi does not have the required skills for writing a book, it is written by someone else and promoted under her name to use this book for propaganda purposes. The US govt. uses such women for its own agenda to show that there is a change in Afghanistan and that women are free after their invasion, which is a big lie.
ONLY Malalai Joya is a real true representative of Afghan women, we are proud of her.
Mrs. Kofi is a doll in the hands of a fundamentalist band of warlords called "Jamiaat-e-Islami Afghanistan" (Islamic Society of Afghanistan) led by a dreaded man called Burhanuddin Rabbani who is accused of many war crimes and brutalities during civil war.
She only exposes the Taliban, but supports the US occupation and the warlords.
I have doubt if she has really written the book, because Mrs. Kofi does not have the required skills for writing a book, it is written by someone else and promoted under her name to use this book for propaganda purposes. The US govt. uses such women for its own agenda to show that there is a change in Afghanistan and that women are free after their invasion, which is a big lie.
ONLY Malalai Joya is a real true representative of Afghan women, we are proud of her.
February 28, 2012
This is a marvelous book which will hopefully be published in the US soon. It is a powerful account of the life of a woman born in 1975 in Afghanistan combined with an easy-to-digest political history of Afghanistan. Koofi, a present member of the Afghan parliament, is considering running for president of Afghanistan and her hope is that her "children's children will grow up free in a proud, successful, Islamic republic that has taken its rightful place in the developed world." This book is a wonderful step in that direction as Koofi shares her remarkable life story showing her passion to better the world around her.
September 3, 2014
What an enjoyable read! Heartfelt, touching and informative. Fawzia is truly the epitome of a 'strong woman'. Totally recommend this book to anyone who would like some insight into a woman growing up and living in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban came to power.
January 16, 2012
A great read, very inspirational and gives a whole different perspective on what's been going on in Afghanistan.
October 21, 2014
An inspiring read.
September 24, 2014
Eu li este livro traduzido em português. Nunca eu tinha aprendido tanto a ler um livro como aprendi com este! Uma história de coragem que merece que todos o leiam!
September 13, 2021
4.3🌟
历史在阿富汗轮回。30年前的一切今天开始又开始重演。
关于塔利班，游击队，看看阿富汗人的看法。
历史在阿富汗轮回。30年前的一切今天开始又开始重演。
关于塔利班，游击队，看看阿富汗人的看法。
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May 17, 2022El día que Fawzia Koofi nació, se enfrentó por primera vez a la muerte. Nacida mujer en una sociedad corrupta, violenta y cruel fue dejada al sol durante su primer día de vida, y no ha sido la única vez que se ha visto de cara a la muerte, puesto que permanentemente recibe amenazas. A sus 35 años, la primera parlamentaria afgana ha perdido la cuenta de cuántas veces ha estado en peligro su vida. Por ello, cada vez que sale de viaje, piensa que probablemente no vuelva a ver a sus hijas Shuhra y Shaharzad de doce y diez años, y les escribe cartas que describen con crudeza su vida, aunque espera que ellas puedan ser libres y les sea permitido cumplir todos sus sueños. Fawzia Koofi nació en una familia polígama de siete mujeres; fue la decimonovena de los veintitrés hijos de su padre, y la octava y última hija de su madre, su segunda esposa. Fue su madre la que la impulsó a estudiar y con ello le cambió la vida. Aunque empezó estudiando medicina no pudo terminar puesto que los talibanes, al asumir el poder en 1996, prohibieron la educación de las mujeres. En 2001, después de la caída de los talibanes volvió a estudiar y obtuvo una maestría en administración y negocios en la Universidad de Preston. El contenido de las cartas es una óptica en primera persona de la historia de Afganistán, enmarcada en dos realidades: los muyahidines y los talibanes, y las consecuencias que todas las tragedias ocurridas han tenido sobre las mujeres de ese país, donde una mujer vale menos que una cabra. Su padre, parlamentario afgano, fue asesinado, así como su hermano favorito, pero fue la muerte de su esposo, consecuencia de los desmanes impuestos por los talibanes, la que le mostró el camino de la política. En las cartas, ella transmite a sus hijas las numerosas enseñanzas obtenidas durante su vida: la capacidad de resistencia del ser humano, la lealtad a la familia, a los amigos y a las ideas, la importancia de la educación, la tolerancia y la fe en un futuro mejor. Fawzia Koofi sigue viva en 2022, a sus 47 años es miembro de la cámara baja de la Asamblea Nacional Afgana por el distrito de Badakhshan, donde nació. Es activista que trabaja en favor de grupos vulnerables, mujeres y niños marginados en su país. Muy recomendado este libro, retrato crudo de realidades desconocidas en occidente.
"Pero a pesar de su vida de pobreza, los habitantes de Badakhshan son personas con orgullo y con unos valores muy firmes. Pueden ser tan salvajes y feroces como el clima de montaña siempre cambiante, pero también pueden ser tan tiernos y tenaces como las delicadas flores silvestres que crecen sobre las márgenes graníticas del río"
"El valle de Koof, donde vivíamos, es conocido como la Suiza de Afganistán. Es una tierra fértil y exuberante, bordeada por árboles de una gama infinita de verdes y amarillos, colores que no he visto en ningún otro lugar"
"Familia... Es una palabra muy simple pero posiblemente una de las más importantes que un niño aprende en toda su vida. La familia es el hogar en el que nació, el lugar en el que debería estar siempre seguro, cobijado y protegido"
"En la cultura afgana la violación está vista como un acto despreciable, pero es un crimen extremadamente común en tiempos de guerra. Mientras que el violador puede ser condenado a muerte, la mujer debe soportar un castigo mucho más largo, convirtiéndose en una paria, incluso dentro de su propia familia"
"Un nuevo movimiento estaba surgiendo en las madrassas—las escuelas religiosas—al sur del país. Un movimiento conocido como talibán. Un movimiento que un día sacudiría no solo a Afganistán sino al mundo entero"
"Para muchos Masud fue el héroe de los muyahidín, el hombre que había liderado la lucha contra los soviéticos. Advirtió al mundo sobre los terroristas y lo pagó con su vida. Todavía me cuesta entender cómo occidente pudo ignorar su mensaje de que los terroristas islámicos eran una amenaza para el mundo. Masud les dijo a los líderes que, si no se detenía al terrorismo allí, en Afganistán, mañana llegaría a sus fronteras (…) Dos mil novecientas setenta y siete personas inocentes. Ahora que el mundo prestaba atención a las advertencias, ya era demasiado tarde para salvar a esas pobres personas"
"Habrá momentos en vuestras vidas en que la fe y la fuerza os abandonarán. Momentos en los que solo querréis rendiros y apartar la vista del mundo. Pero, mis queridas hijas, rendirse no es algo que haga nuestra familia"
"Mientras miraba dormir a esa miniatura, rogaba por un mundo mejor para ella, por un mejor Afganistán. No quería que conociera la discriminación y el odio que las mujeres sufren en mi país"
"Pero a pesar de su vida de pobreza, los habitantes de Badakhshan son personas con orgullo y con unos valores muy firmes. Pueden ser tan salvajes y feroces como el clima de montaña siempre cambiante, pero también pueden ser tan tiernos y tenaces como las delicadas flores silvestres que crecen sobre las márgenes graníticas del río"
"El valle de Koof, donde vivíamos, es conocido como la Suiza de Afganistán. Es una tierra fértil y exuberante, bordeada por árboles de una gama infinita de verdes y amarillos, colores que no he visto en ningún otro lugar"
"Familia... Es una palabra muy simple pero posiblemente una de las más importantes que un niño aprende en toda su vida. La familia es el hogar en el que nació, el lugar en el que debería estar siempre seguro, cobijado y protegido"
"En la cultura afgana la violación está vista como un acto despreciable, pero es un crimen extremadamente común en tiempos de guerra. Mientras que el violador puede ser condenado a muerte, la mujer debe soportar un castigo mucho más largo, convirtiéndose en una paria, incluso dentro de su propia familia"
"Un nuevo movimiento estaba surgiendo en las madrassas—las escuelas religiosas—al sur del país. Un movimiento conocido como talibán. Un movimiento que un día sacudiría no solo a Afganistán sino al mundo entero"
"Para muchos Masud fue el héroe de los muyahidín, el hombre que había liderado la lucha contra los soviéticos. Advirtió al mundo sobre los terroristas y lo pagó con su vida. Todavía me cuesta entender cómo occidente pudo ignorar su mensaje de que los terroristas islámicos eran una amenaza para el mundo. Masud les dijo a los líderes que, si no se detenía al terrorismo allí, en Afganistán, mañana llegaría a sus fronteras (…) Dos mil novecientas setenta y siete personas inocentes. Ahora que el mundo prestaba atención a las advertencias, ya era demasiado tarde para salvar a esas pobres personas"
"Habrá momentos en vuestras vidas en que la fe y la fuerza os abandonarán. Momentos en los que solo querréis rendiros y apartar la vista del mundo. Pero, mis queridas hijas, rendirse no es algo que haga nuestra familia"
"Mientras miraba dormir a esa miniatura, rogaba por un mundo mejor para ella, por un mejor Afganistán. No quería que conociera la discriminación y el odio que las mujeres sufren en mi país"
April 5, 2013
A flawed but interesting story. She has a fascinating tale to tell, I just wish she was more skilled at telling it. This memoir manages to simultaneously suffer from being overly pedantically factual and from being factually-challenged/inadequately edited.
I can understand why a memoir might suffer from (and perhaps even be enhanced by) the fog of memory, and if she would just admit as much it would be fine with me. But no, she chooses to adopt a dry retelling, while contradicting herself right and left. Just two examples of the many ways her facts trip over themselves. She claims to have been born in 1975, to have a favorite brother 3 years older than herself, and then describes that brother (in a very important, heart-breaking section) as being 23 in 1992. The text leaves me no way to determine which of these facts is in error. Elsewhere she describes the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in a chapter titled "1996" without ever acknowledging that this event took place 5 years later. I know, I'm nit-picking, but this sort of factual sloppiness drives me crazy. She also recounts from memory with dry precision events that happen when she is only 2 and 3 years old, without admitting that these must have been re-tellings she had heard from others. Then on the other hand she gives us every harrowing detail of a journey looking for refuge, then another journey, and another, and another, without ever really telling us why they kept going back! She tells us of the harrowing deaths of loved ones, without ever giving us the chance to get to know the loved ones, they just show up at their deaths.
Her account also suffers from a lecturing/preaching tone it falls victim to because it is purportedly being written to her two young daughters. And then the cynic in me, after repeatedly being told her mother's childhood joke that she would grow up to be president, realized that this was most likely just another example of an ambitious politician's obligatory self-revealing pre-political-campaign congratulatory memoir. Sure enough, she is currently running for president.
Still, I somewhat hate myself for being so negative. This had such rich possibilities for insight; occasionally she finds them.
I can understand why a memoir might suffer from (and perhaps even be enhanced by) the fog of memory, and if she would just admit as much it would be fine with me. But no, she chooses to adopt a dry retelling, while contradicting herself right and left. Just two examples of the many ways her facts trip over themselves. She claims to have been born in 1975, to have a favorite brother 3 years older than herself, and then describes that brother (in a very important, heart-breaking section) as being 23 in 1992. The text leaves me no way to determine which of these facts is in error. Elsewhere she describes the Taliban's destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in a chapter titled "1996" without ever acknowledging that this event took place 5 years later. I know, I'm nit-picking, but this sort of factual sloppiness drives me crazy. She also recounts from memory with dry precision events that happen when she is only 2 and 3 years old, without admitting that these must have been re-tellings she had heard from others. Then on the other hand she gives us every harrowing detail of a journey looking for refuge, then another journey, and another, and another, without ever really telling us why they kept going back! She tells us of the harrowing deaths of loved ones, without ever giving us the chance to get to know the loved ones, they just show up at their deaths.
Her account also suffers from a lecturing/preaching tone it falls victim to because it is purportedly being written to her two young daughters. And then the cynic in me, after repeatedly being told her mother's childhood joke that she would grow up to be president, realized that this was most likely just another example of an ambitious politician's obligatory self-revealing pre-political-campaign congratulatory memoir. Sure enough, she is currently running for president.
Still, I somewhat hate myself for being so negative. This had such rich possibilities for insight; occasionally she finds them.
April 19, 2021
Just at the beginning of the book when I read the first letter to her daughters my heart broke. I just can't imagine writing a letter like that to my son.
Here we have the story of a brave woman fighting to help people gain access to education, health, infrastructure and trying to move forward her country.
Ms. Koofi didn't have an easy life, we could even say she's fighting for it since she was born. She has faced many encounters with death and luckily she has made it out alive.
Favorite part: The way she speaks of her country and her people lets you see immediately how much she loves them and how proud she is of them. I particularly liked the way she describes the women: strong, proud, intelligent and resourceful. I also loved the way she described what a politician must be.
Least favorite part: I had to stop at times since the book became too much to me with all the unfairness -specially related to women. I also didn't get the recklessness I saw at times for example
This is a really good book to learn a little bit more about a country and its people.
Here we have the story of a brave woman fighting to help people gain access to education, health, infrastructure and trying to move forward her country.
Ms. Koofi didn't have an easy life, we could even say she's fighting for it since she was born. She has faced many encounters with death and luckily she has made it out alive.
Favorite part: The way she speaks of her country and her people lets you see immediately how much she loves them and how proud she is of them. I particularly liked the way she describes the women: strong, proud, intelligent and resourceful. I also loved the way she described what a politician must be.
Least favorite part: I had to stop at times since the book became too much to me with all the unfairness -specially related to women. I also didn't get the recklessness I saw at times for example
This is a really good book to learn a little bit more about a country and its people.
January 9, 2015
I was so riveted with Koofi's book that I simultaneously wanted to devour the whole book at once and slam it down on the table in front of me. There were many points in her memoir where she recounted very infuriating moments in her life (thus, wanting to throw the book down), but I wanted so desperately to learn of how she succeeded in becoming a member of parliament that I couldn't stop reading.
It's a beautiful book, and she is a very wise woman. Koofi has lived through so much and promoted so much positive change, I'm flabbergast. Astounding. I also found myself submersed in the book because I grew up in a strictly westernised culture, surrounded by western ideals and media. Koofi proudly and compassionately expresses aspects of Afghan culture that I was completely ignorant of because of the western-world's view. I appreciate Islamic philosophies and ideals in a different way now (I did before, but admittedly I had a very rudimentary understanding of who the Taliban was prior to reading the book).
Now that I've completed the book, I'm aching to read many other memoirs, biographies, and factual books about the east. I also want to read the Koran. I'm inspired, invigorated, and hoping with all my heart that Koofi continues to live and love in Afghanistan; it's important not just for their nation, but for the world.
It's a beautiful book, and she is a very wise woman. Koofi has lived through so much and promoted so much positive change, I'm flabbergast. Astounding. I also found myself submersed in the book because I grew up in a strictly westernised culture, surrounded by western ideals and media. Koofi proudly and compassionately expresses aspects of Afghan culture that I was completely ignorant of because of the western-world's view. I appreciate Islamic philosophies and ideals in a different way now (I did before, but admittedly I had a very rudimentary understanding of who the Taliban was prior to reading the book).
Now that I've completed the book, I'm aching to read many other memoirs, biographies, and factual books about the east. I also want to read the Koran. I'm inspired, invigorated, and hoping with all my heart that Koofi continues to live and love in Afghanistan; it's important not just for their nation, but for the world.
February 9, 2013
I have read other books about Afghanistan, but never cease to be amazed by what the resilient people of this country have been through. In this book dedicated to her beloved daughters, Fawzia Koofi, one of Afghanistan's first female members of parliament, and first female deputy speaker, details her dramatic and difficult life. She describes life as an unwanted girl in a large polygamist family, and the turbulence she lived through as her country went through the Soviet occupation, civil war, and the brutal rule of the Taliban. She tells her story with honesty, humanity, and great insight, and never shies away from the disturbing and shocking details. Particularly shocking is her description of the rule of the Taliban, and the terrible injustices they committed in the name of their extreme Islamic fundamentalism, destroying Afghan culture and dragging the country back to the dark ages. She obviously loves her country, and her Muslim faith, and has great hope for the future of Afghanistan and her daughters.
April 21, 2014
This inspiring story gives a personal, first-hand perspective of the troubling years of Afghanistan's war with Russia, subsequent civil war, and then the Taliban years. Fawzia Koofi, now one of the most popular female politicians, expects daily that this day may be her last as she advocates for women, education, and freedom from poverty in a land where violence towards women has been commonplace.
While some reviewers complained of lack of editing, I think the prose is more real and raw. It was like sitting in Ms. Koofi's home and hearing the story first hand over a pot of tea. Bravo to her courage and determination. I know I'll be watching the internet for news of her with whispered prayers for her safety and for peace and security and the advancement of women's rights in Afghanistan.
While some reviewers complained of lack of editing, I think the prose is more real and raw. It was like sitting in Ms. Koofi's home and hearing the story first hand over a pot of tea. Bravo to her courage and determination. I know I'll be watching the internet for news of her with whispered prayers for her safety and for peace and security and the advancement of women's rights in Afghanistan.
December 16, 2014
My paradigm was shifted a few remarkable inches by Koofi's story. And she appears in other stories about womens' lives in Afghanistan as well (sorry can't remember which ones at the moment). Koofi's perspective is probably unique in this world. Koofi was raised in a traditional tribal household where women are considered to have little value but her life path is anything but traditional and as a result, she can reflect on the traditional world that forms her roots while embracing a very nontraditional and courageous present. As a member of Afghanistan's parliament, Koofi's perspective on politics, the Taliban and traditional ways is nuanced and insightful. Will change your mind and leave it there.
June 7, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I favour non fiction stories, especially those that deal with the human condition. I was fascinated as Fawzia took me on my own private tour of her life as an Afghan woman. She shares how life changed so drastically under the Taliban rule - especially for women, and how she felt her country being dragged back to the dark ages. Regardless of how you feel about her politics or perspectives, you can't help but admire her ability to dream and then courage to pursue a better life for her daughters, and her countrymen.
January 2, 2014
This is really an eye-opening story... For me it was extremely educating, I have to say that I personally had no clue about life or the people of Afganistan and had the completely a wrong idea. I am a mexican and was surprised at how much Afganistan and Mexico are alike... In their corrupt government, poverty, security issues... And how my feelings towards my country are so much like those of Fawzia Koofi even though we live so differently and have different religious views. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, it really is mind opening and culturally educating.
February 10, 2013
An amazing and inspiring story of a strong and courageous woman. My hope is that Fawzia Koofi does as she has stated she will - run against Karzai in Afghanistan's next presidential election. My greater hope, that she does not lose her life at the hands of assassins because she speaks openly for the rights of women.
August 16, 2024
Fantastisch boek. Er zijn heel veel romans geschreven over het opgroeien in Afghanistan, maar dit is het eerste boek dat ik heb gelezen wat een écht leven beschrijft. En dat is indrukwekkend.
Vooral het laatste hoofdstuk was goed. Wat is het doel van een volksvertenwoordiger?
Een vraag die ook in onze westerse context vaker gesteld mag (of moet) worden.
Vooral het laatste hoofdstuk was goed. Wat is het doel van een volksvertenwoordiger?
Een vraag die ook in onze westerse context vaker gesteld mag (of moet) worden.
December 12, 2012
This is a beautifully written story from a mother to her daughters, it was an eyeopener from someone who lives in the western world and is not from a war torn country. Very warm and heartfelt and I learned an awful lot of the mindset of Afgani women
April 28, 2013
Excellent read!! What a woman, what a life!! Strongly recommend!! I saw her on the the John Stewart show...and I was so surprised to see John Stewart did not make fun of her, but I saw his respect for her...that left me wanting to know more about Fawzia Koofi.
January 5, 2018
This is a truly honest and delicate account of a very intense and complex story. I learned so much about the Islam and about Afghanistan through this book - but also about being a mother, loving your country, enjoying your family and never giving up.
October 1, 2013
Such an amazing woman! I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her life and her struggles in Afghanistan. So inspiring that after all the obstructions to women's equality and safety that she has endured and witnessed that she has such a strong love for her country.
September 20, 2014
A great and easy read. Gives a good insight in the damage the Taliban has done in Afghanistan and that this is not the kind of islam most afghans follow, and what this woman, women in general can do to help Afghanistan.
March 3, 2013
such an inspiring book. People really need to appreciate what they have.
May 13, 2013
Informative and challenging view of Afghanistan and its people ( especially women)
September 11, 2016
Accessible and edifying. An important read.
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