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De meisjes van Kabul
De familie van Awista Ayub vluchtte in 1979 vanuit Afghanistan naar Amerika. Daar groeide Awista op tot een sportieve jonge vrouw, die ervan droomde om ooit iets belangrijkst te doen voor haar geboorteland. Kort na de val van de Taliban zag ze haar kans: ze richtte een organisatie op die Afghaanse meisjes uit hun isolement haalt door ze te leren voetballen. Wat begon met acht jonge vrouwen is inmiddels uitgegroeid tot een waar fenomeen: op dit moment is er in Afghanistan een competitie van vijftien meisjesvoetbalteams, waarin honderden meisjes meespelen.
223 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
November 11, 2009
The narrative didn't flow - the story jumped all over the place in terms of time. The tense changed from present to past. Overall, it needed a good editing job.
But the topic and story was good material for a book.
But the topic and story was good material for a book.
October 6, 2009
I gave this book a 3 because it doesn't compare to Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea" but is infinitely better than Deborah Rodriguez'"Kabul Beauty School." Rodriguez used the Afghan women she worked to feed her own ego. After she escaped in disgrace, the women she left behind ended up in much greater danger because of her book. Greg Mortenson continues to devote his life to building hundreds of schools to thank the Afghan people for saving his life.
But I do not understand Awista Ayab's purpose. She obviously had great resources because, a the age of 23, she was able to fly eight girls to the US and get them professional soccer training. But, it seems like taking sand out of the sea one teaspoon at a time. There are thousands of Afghani girls living in abject poverty, under very restrictive conditions who need health care, eduction and freedom. Soccer may be a great game, but it hardly improved the lives of these girls, let alone the thousands of others in dire need.
If you want to read a book about Afghanistan, I recommend "Three Cups of Tea." It is better written and gives you a much better feeling about the future.
But I do not understand Awista Ayab's purpose. She obviously had great resources because, a the age of 23, she was able to fly eight girls to the US and get them professional soccer training. But, it seems like taking sand out of the sea one teaspoon at a time. There are thousands of Afghani girls living in abject poverty, under very restrictive conditions who need health care, eduction and freedom. Soccer may be a great game, but it hardly improved the lives of these girls, let alone the thousands of others in dire need.
If you want to read a book about Afghanistan, I recommend "Three Cups of Tea." It is better written and gives you a much better feeling about the future.
August 14, 2015
As someone who has always lived by the phrases "soccer will save the world" and "world peace will come through football", this book is definitely the embodiment of my wildest dreams.
Ayub writes in a simple, straightforward manner that manages to convey the emotions that were felt by eight young girls, and the author herself, as they embarked on a road to discovery in who they are and what they can accomplish in the face of patriarchal, war-torn cultural norms in Afghanistan.
Through narratives of the author and the girls' individual lives, different perspectives on the same story were told from beginning to end. These perspectives shed light on the differences in familial situations, interpretation of and willingness to fight cultural norms. These stories showed immense growth in maturity, emotional competencies, and compromise.
Ayub provided a life-changing experience for these eight girls, spurring on a transforming experience for herself and thousands of other young girls and women in her homeland of Afghanistan.
Ayub writes in a simple, straightforward manner that manages to convey the emotions that were felt by eight young girls, and the author herself, as they embarked on a road to discovery in who they are and what they can accomplish in the face of patriarchal, war-torn cultural norms in Afghanistan.
Through narratives of the author and the girls' individual lives, different perspectives on the same story were told from beginning to end. These perspectives shed light on the differences in familial situations, interpretation of and willingness to fight cultural norms. These stories showed immense growth in maturity, emotional competencies, and compromise.
Ayub provided a life-changing experience for these eight girls, spurring on a transforming experience for herself and thousands of other young girls and women in her homeland of Afghanistan.
October 19, 2009
Okay, but not great. A story about 8 Afghani girls who play soccer, and the Afghani American who organized a soccer program. I'd recommend it if you liked A Thousand Spelndid Suns and are in the mood for a quick read.
November 3, 2022
This book is a quick and easy read and well worth your time. Why? It is inspiring, it is deeply moving, it is hopeful. Told in a quiet way, it tells the story of a group of Afghan girls who are introduced to soccer. Girls in Afghanistan are not allowed to play soccer. Girls play only volleyball and basketball.
The author, the director of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE), whose own family emigrated from Kabul to Connecticut when the Soviet-backed coup took over the country in 1978, first sponsored eight Afghan girls to come to America to play soccer for six weeks in 2004.
Having been grouped informally as a team only recently back in Afghanistan, where girls were rarely encouraged to play sports, the girls spent six weeks at soccer camps in America—in Washington, D.C.; Connecticut; Cleveland—playing soccer publicly for the first time.
This story explores the diverse stories of the eight girls, who had lived through the recent nightmare era of the Taliban and in some cases were prohibited from attending school. Excited and a little frightened by the attention they garnered in America, the eight girls, ranging in age from 10 to 16, then had to return to their humble, war-town families and use their newfound leadership skills to teach others.
The author, the director of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange (AYSE), whose own family emigrated from Kabul to Connecticut when the Soviet-backed coup took over the country in 1978, first sponsored eight Afghan girls to come to America to play soccer for six weeks in 2004.
Having been grouped informally as a team only recently back in Afghanistan, where girls were rarely encouraged to play sports, the girls spent six weeks at soccer camps in America—in Washington, D.C.; Connecticut; Cleveland—playing soccer publicly for the first time.
This story explores the diverse stories of the eight girls, who had lived through the recent nightmare era of the Taliban and in some cases were prohibited from attending school. Excited and a little frightened by the attention they garnered in America, the eight girls, ranging in age from 10 to 16, then had to return to their humble, war-town families and use their newfound leadership skills to teach others.
February 2, 2025
Libro piacevole, senza troppe lodi né incredibili difetti. Forse un po' slegato o in alcune parti quasi "sbrigativo".
Avrebbe bisogno di un buon editore che sappia sistemare e approfondire determinate parti, ma l'idea è decisamente buona.
È sicuramente un tema ben poco trattato, ma approfondimenti ulteriori riguardo la società afgana sarebbero stati graditi tanto quanto quelli riguardo i sentimenti dei rifugiati nel resto del mondo (la voglia di tornare, il non sentirsi né - in questo caso- americani, né afghani, ecc.)
Amaro il finale colmo di speranza, viste le vicissitudini che si sono poi seguite con l'abbandono dell'Afghanistan da parte degli USA.
Da leggere senza troppe aspettative
Avrebbe bisogno di un buon editore che sappia sistemare e approfondire determinate parti, ma l'idea è decisamente buona.
È sicuramente un tema ben poco trattato, ma approfondimenti ulteriori riguardo la società afgana sarebbero stati graditi tanto quanto quelli riguardo i sentimenti dei rifugiati nel resto del mondo (la voglia di tornare, il non sentirsi né - in questo caso- americani, né afghani, ecc.)
Amaro il finale colmo di speranza, viste le vicissitudini che si sono poi seguite con l'abbandono dell'Afghanistan da parte degli USA.
Da leggere senza troppe aspettative
December 22, 2020
Quite liked this short read. While being able to get a glimpse into another culture and how the fight for women’s rights is going, the reader also sees what old Afghanistan was like pre-Soviets. This was very insightful to how those from other countries may feel in the US- either as an immigrant, foreigner or child of, as well as what it is like to return to your home country after being away from so long. Good girl power book that makes you want to do more to push equality froward.
May 28, 2019
It never ceases to amaze me all the small things Americans take for granted that other countries fight for. Soccer for girls is a new concept in Afghanistan. Good quality training, uniforms, equipment are a dream. So cool how the author was able to reconnect with her roots and provide opportunity for these girls.
June 30, 2019
E' un racconto che non ti prende mai, non ti incuriosisce, non ti rimane nulla alla fine: è solo e soltanto la cronaca di un'esperienza, di un progetto (nobile, non si discute) ma privo di ogni ingrediente per farlo decollare. Poteva venirne fuori un buon articolo di giornale. Sarebbe bastato.
June 27, 2017
...however tall the mountain there's always a road...
October 10, 2017
The challenges the eight girls the story focuses on face bring their story to life, giving a glimpse into a world quite different than mine.
October 6, 2018
Per quanto alta possa essere la montagna,
c'è sempre una strada che porta in vetta.
c'è sempre una strada che porta in vetta.
December 18, 2019
While this book could use some editing I really enjoyed reading Ayub's story and the story of these eight girls and their families.
November 24, 2020
Very interesting material. It was a refreshing read. The writing felt a bit confusing in the beginning as the story jumped from past to present. But overall, enjoyed the book.
August 13, 2022
It wasn’t bad. Just was not enough of a story.
July 11, 2025
The theme is interesting but I was failing to understand why this book isn't just in chronological order.
July 6, 2016
I appreciate Awista's telling of this story that not many people have heard of, and I enjoyed some of the ideas (which were scattered) and some of the main points I thought the book was trying to get across. This book does speak to the bravery of these girls, but the author's attempts at showing how difficult it must have been for these girls to persevere is overshadowed by the sloppy timeline. Readers are jerked from America in July 2004 to Kabul in September 2005 to Kabul in some unidentified time to America in August 2004 to Kabul in April 2006, etc. In addition, the chapters go from one girl's story to another's to the narrator's - messy. Also, at one point the girls have played a game and then a second game, then the timeline switches to before the second game, and then goes to some other tangent, and then returns to say the girls will be playing a second game (when the second game was already described in relative detail pages before). Also, the girls' lives are not fully developed enough to really grab the reader. Readers are told of opposition from family and friends, but the story is just dropped after a few pages, leaving the reader to wonder what happened to the girls, and unconvinced of the struggles these girls had to go through to do something as simple as playing soccer. A third issue I had with this book was I became confused: was this book Awista's attempt to struggle through/discover/define her identity as Afghan, American, or Afghan-American (or some other combination), or was it about these girls? Is this a story about self-discovery (and if so, whose? Awista's or the girls'?), or is a story of how women can and should be empowered and why, or is it a story of how sports can transform a country (and especially its women)?
Either way, the thesis was very weak, not fully developed, and there was no firm resolution. The book had a very weak ending. Awista decided she had strong American traits having been brought to America at such a young age, losing a good amount of her native language (Pashto - which, in terms of language development, having come to the US at age 2, would not have been very well established as a first language before introducing English), wearing the hijab differently than women in Kabul, etc., but she also discovers she can feel at home in Kabul. The girls have some success as soccer players, but their whole journey was not developed enough to make a story about what soccer is doing for girls in Afghanistan, or what happens to girls who are allowed to play for a while but are then forced to quit, etc. The epilogue relates some of the difficulties being faced in terms of firmly establishing a women's soccer program in Afghanistan, but I wish the book overall had provided a more organized timeline, well-defined thesis, developed characters, background on Afghanistan, Kabul culture vs. that of the rural areas (especially in terms of how religious people are and how religion influences attitudes and behaviors towards women), and a stronger ending/some sort of outlook for the future. With all the author's connections,more detailed and developed perspectives of the coaches and political officials she mentions encountering would have been helpful, also.
Either way, the thesis was very weak, not fully developed, and there was no firm resolution. The book had a very weak ending. Awista decided she had strong American traits having been brought to America at such a young age, losing a good amount of her native language (Pashto - which, in terms of language development, having come to the US at age 2, would not have been very well established as a first language before introducing English), wearing the hijab differently than women in Kabul, etc., but she also discovers she can feel at home in Kabul. The girls have some success as soccer players, but their whole journey was not developed enough to make a story about what soccer is doing for girls in Afghanistan, or what happens to girls who are allowed to play for a while but are then forced to quit, etc. The epilogue relates some of the difficulties being faced in terms of firmly establishing a women's soccer program in Afghanistan, but I wish the book overall had provided a more organized timeline, well-defined thesis, developed characters, background on Afghanistan, Kabul culture vs. that of the rural areas (especially in terms of how religious people are and how religion influences attitudes and behaviors towards women), and a stronger ending/some sort of outlook for the future. With all the author's connections,more detailed and developed perspectives of the coaches and political officials she mentions encountering would have been helpful, also.
August 29, 2009
This is not really about soccer. Sports fanatics will be a bit disappointed. I think, however, that most will be touched by the story of 8 girls learning to live again after the Taliban rule. In 2004, Awista, the authoress, sponsored these young Afghan women to come and learn soccer in the States. Tho Awista wrote the book, there is very little about her. Rather, she tells the story of the Afghan girls and their lives before and after the Taliban. We feel sad when their brothers are arrested, angry when they walk the streets and get jeered at for wearing jeans, sympathy when the Taliban bans them from getting an education, and fear when the Taliban knocks on their doors at night because they hear a television. When the Taliban is overthrown in 2001, readers witness the country's slow recovery thru the girls' eyes.
In a world in which it is only deemed acceptable for women to play either basketball or volleyball, these girls are trailblazers. Their training in the States teaches them to work as a team and that disputes among themselves do not have to be settled with violence. Having never known a world without violence or where everything isn't answered with violence, it was interesting watching them mature throughout the story.
The girls that left Afghanistan to learn soccer were frightened and crying. The girls that returned were ready to take on the world and empower other young women to do the same.
I really liked this book and the only thing holding it back from 5 stars is it was very short. It appeared longer because of blank pages and very large spacing and tabs. The timeline was a bit off too. They don't meet their coach Ali till halfway thru the book as they readying for the Children's Games, but he was coaching them at the beginning for the Fourth of July games.. Little disrepancies. The author apologizes for this in the Author's note tho. I read an ARC also.. It may be changed before publication.
Good book and thumbs up to Awista Ayub.
In a world in which it is only deemed acceptable for women to play either basketball or volleyball, these girls are trailblazers. Their training in the States teaches them to work as a team and that disputes among themselves do not have to be settled with violence. Having never known a world without violence or where everything isn't answered with violence, it was interesting watching them mature throughout the story.
The girls that left Afghanistan to learn soccer were frightened and crying. The girls that returned were ready to take on the world and empower other young women to do the same.
I really liked this book and the only thing holding it back from 5 stars is it was very short. It appeared longer because of blank pages and very large spacing and tabs. The timeline was a bit off too. They don't meet their coach Ali till halfway thru the book as they readying for the Children's Games, but he was coaching them at the beginning for the Fourth of July games.. Little disrepancies. The author apologizes for this in the Author's note tho. I read an ARC also.. It may be changed before publication.
Good book and thumbs up to Awista Ayub.
August 13, 2010
I'm actually reading/read "However Tall the Mountain" which is the hardback version of this.
Before reading, but after I put it on my "to-read" list, I saw some mixed reviews on this. I can understand where the reviewers comment on the "poor grammar" but I think what they see as "poor grammar" is actually the way that the people in the book actually talk. It's a very interesting book that I think gives a different perspective about the Afghan culture than I am used to hearing. It also hits home with me because a majority of the girls are from Kabul and if I am/were to deploy with the Corps of Engineers, that is where I would be going and several of my friends are there right now. I've seen pictures of some of the places that are mentioned in the book, so the story comes through even clearer for me than I think it would for some.
Before reading, but after I put it on my "to-read" list, I saw some mixed reviews on this. I can understand where the reviewers comment on the "poor grammar" but I think what they see as "poor grammar" is actually the way that the people in the book actually talk. It's a very interesting book that I think gives a different perspective about the Afghan culture than I am used to hearing. It also hits home with me because a majority of the girls are from Kabul and if I am/were to deploy with the Corps of Engineers, that is where I would be going and several of my friends are there right now. I've seen pictures of some of the places that are mentioned in the book, so the story comes through even clearer for me than I think it would for some.
April 11, 2012
I was intrigued by the title, more so by the Afghan quote it is from - However tall the mountain, there's always a road. The story telling is engaging, the picture of Afghanistan is one that I had never gotten from anywhere else and one that I will hold onto. I never realized that Afghanistan had at one time been free spirited and open, a place where women and girls were valued and enjoyed many of the same freedoms that we do here nor did I realize that there is in Afghanistan now an element moving slowly back to that freedom. This book challenged both my view of organized sports teams and will certainly be a challenge to anyone who thinks that all Muslims are terrorists or wish to be so. But it does show how beaten down by fear and oppression that peaceful Muslims can be as well. The author says this is a book about hope and even amidst the sorrow and grief she shows that hope continues to grow and find it's foothold in the roughest places.
June 25, 2011
There's such an interesting story here, but I think it's undermined by the way the book is structured. By alternating between talking about the girls' trip to the States and giving more in-depth pictures of each girl's home life, the book loses some of its narrative strand. By the time we learn enough about the girls to be invested, the book is nearly over.
Moreover, there's no tension. I get that it was a challenge of epic proportions to start a soccer team, to get the team to the States, etc., but there's no real sense of what is at stake for these girls or for the author.
All told: good book, interesting story, but not terribly engaging.
Moreover, there's no tension. I get that it was a challenge of epic proportions to start a soccer team, to get the team to the States, etc., but there's no real sense of what is at stake for these girls or for the author.
All told: good book, interesting story, but not terribly engaging.
September 4, 2012
An Afghan-American woman connects with Afghan girls that come to the US for a soccer camp and tournament. I adore that they had the opportunity to see beyond their circumstances, but I wanted this trip and experience to have more longlasting effects. I wanted to give this book a 3, but that is more for the aim of the work and the story behind the book. I saw the author speak and it was really proof that you can put difficult things in to action if you put your mind in to it and add a little elbow grease. However, the book itself jumps around and I found some of the descriptions a bit elementary.
September 11, 2013
Finially being set free 5 girls are able to have the experience of their life in " However Tall the Mountain" by Awista Ayub. 6 girls living in Afganistan are giving a free ticket to go round trip to the United States playing soccer. In this story your able to see the 5 girls hArdships and motivations in life ech with. Different story nd inspiration on why they wnt to play on the woman's soccer team in the United States. I found this book very good, at times it became a little boring. The girls help you to see how new the United States is to them, and as you read on the book because better and better. I recommend this book for people who like inspiring books, books that move you.
June 21, 2010
A story of young Afgan girls and their desire to play soccer in a culture and time in which women sports are not supported in their home country. These eight girls did come to the US for training and then return home in 2005. The book jumps between the US visit and the girls lives before and after the visit. At times the book is difficult to follow and could have been strengthened by following one girl more closely especially the time in the US. The difficulties of sports, dress, religion, government, ruling powers, and war do not allow the development of young atheletes.
May 30, 2014
This book opened my eyes to how much was in stake for the young women of Aghanistan not just one government but several and all changing the course of the other. But through out it all the desire to follow one's course pervailed. It had failure, success and growth.Things many of us take for granted is not anywhere the norm for these young women who can be stopped by a word from the male in charge of the family from playing games that are available to young women in our country. This book shows how all of these young women are winners starting from scratch in beginning the game.
November 19, 2014
I loved the concept of this book: teaching 8 Afghan girls how to play soccer in an American soccer clinic, so they could go home to Kabul and spread the sport to other Afghan girls who had been forbidden from playing sports by the Taliban. However, it lost a lot by the way it was written. The storyline was fragmented and hard to follow. Still, it was eye-opening and inspiring to read about these girls fighting so desperately for a freedom that Americans so often take for granted, so I'm glad I read it.
October 20, 2012
This was a very warm story of courage of a group of young Afghan girls who wanted to play soccer and had never had an opportunity to do so. They make a trip to America to participate in a soccer camp and to play in an international competition. I think this will be an excellent story for Maddie who is 14 and loves soccer. I think she will appreciate all the opportunities she has and what courage these girls showed in the face of much adversity.
February 20, 2015
The author's story of her creation of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange in Kabul after the fall of the Taliban, introducing girls to soccer. She shares her
story and those of the eight Afghan young women she first introduced to the sport. Their cultural struggles and ultimate growth are moving and
heartwarming. The only negative is the fragmented structure, making the timeline somewhat hard to follow, but it is worth reading.
story and those of the eight Afghan young women she first introduced to the sport. Their cultural struggles and ultimate growth are moving and
heartwarming. The only negative is the fragmented structure, making the timeline somewhat hard to follow, but it is worth reading.
May 31, 2016
"However Tall the Mountain" by Awista Ayub is a book that chronicles some of the events that took place with a group of young Afghan women who broke barriers in order to play soccer. The stories of the girls are fascinating and compelling reading. The author's personal reminiscences are rather pointless and boring. The book is good, but it could have been great had the focus remained entirely on the girls in Afghanistan. I doubt I will recommend this book because of the problems noted above.
November 14, 2010
I really wanted to like this book. I mean, come on, it was about girls soccer! Unfortunately I couldn't get into it because of how it was structured and how it was written. It seemed fragmented and I think if it was written differently it could have been so good! With that said, I am glad I read it, it was ok.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews