Omid Haqbin

“In Pashto, Afghanistan’s second official language, there is even a deprecating name for a man who has no sons: He is a meraat, referring to the system where an inheritance, such as land assets, is almost exclusively passed on through a male lineage.”
― Jenny Nordberg, The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan

“Nancy had neither seen nor heard of girls who dressed as boys and could think of no documentation on the topic through all her time in Afghanistan, dating back to the country’s last king, who was ousted in 1973. But she was “not the least bit surprised” by my story of one little girl being brought up as a boy. Similar to Carol’s take on the subject, it made a certain sense to Nancy: “Segregation calls for creativity,” she had told me.”
― Jenny Nordberg, The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan

“I hear her smiling when she describes her outfit: “I made myself fashionable. And diplomatic. They all took my picture. The BBC, Voice of America, and Tolo TV. I had the turquoise scarf—the one you saw the other day. You know it. And the black jacket.” She pauses. “And a lot of makeup. Big makeup.” I breathe in deeply. I am the journalist. She is the subject. The rule is to show no emotion.”
― Jenny Nordberg, The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan

“Problem is, Jews don’t believe in hell, so there isn’t the same readily accessible chamber of fear the Catholics have up their sleeve to poison the nervous system of their youth. You can’t turn to a young Jewish boy and say, “You see that pit of fire? That’s where you’re going.”
― Steve Toltz, A Fraction of the Whole