The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan Into the Future

The nineteenth daughter of a local village leader in rural Afghanistan, Fawzia Koofi was left to die in the sun after birth by her mother. But she survived, and perseverance in the face of extreme hardship has defined her life ever since. Despite the abuse of her family, the exploitative Russian and Taliban regimes, the murders of her father and brother, and numerous attempts on her life, she rose to become the first Afghani woman Parliament speaker. Here, she shares her amazing story, punctuated by a series of poignant letters she wrote to her two daughters before each political trip-letters describing the future and freedoms she dreamed of for them and for all the women of Afghanistan.Her story movingly captures the political and cultural moment in Afghanistan, a country caught between the hope of progress and the bitter truth of history.

The true story of how the nineteenth child of a tribal leader overcame poverty and prejudice to become Afghanistan's first female Parliament speaker.

Fawzia Koofi is Afghanistan's first female Parliament speaker and a noted activist for women and children's rights. She is currently a candidate for Afghanistan's 2014 presidential elections. Fawzia has been featured in Time magazine, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and The Globe and Mail, among other publications. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. The mother of two girls, she lives in Kabul. Nadene Ghouri is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster. She is a former correspondent of the BBC and Al Jazeera English. Emily Durante has been acting since the age of seven, performing in a number of stage plays professionally, in the community, and at the college level. Other performance credits include commercial and industrial voice work, educational live theater, and singing telegrams. She has been narrating audiobooks for over ten years. Her titles include the Midnight Twins trilogy by Jacqueline Mitchard, Casting Off by Nicole R. Dickson, Impossible and Locked Inside both by Nancy Werlin, and Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypus. She has also directed audiobooks, including the Earphones Award-winning performance of Heaven's Keep narrated by Buck Schirner. Emily resides in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two children.