Synopses & Reviews
Malalai Joya was named one of
Time magazines 100 Most Influential People of 2010. An extraordinary young woman raised in the refugee camps of Iran and Pakistan, Joya became a teacher in secret girls schools, hiding her books under her burqa so the Taliban couldnt find them; she helped establish a free medical clinic and orphanage in her impoverished home province of Farah; and at a constitutional assembly in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2003, she stood up and denounced her countrys powerful NATO-backed warlords. She was twenty-five years old. Two years later, she became the youngest person elected to Afghanistans new Parliament. In 2007, she was suspended from Parliament for her persistent criticism of the warlords and drug barons and their cronies. She has survived four assassination attempts to date, is accompanied at all times by armed guards, and sleeps only in safe houses.
Joya takes us inside this massively important and insufficiently understood country, shows us the desperate day-to-day situations its remarkable people face at every turn, and recounts some of the many acts of rebellion that are helping to change it. A controversial political figure in one of the most dangerous places on earth, Malalai Joya is a hero for our times.
Review
"The bravest woman in Afghanistan." -- BBC News
Synopsis
The extraordinary story of political activist Malalai Joya
About the Author
Malalai Joya, at only 30 years of age, has been called “the most famous woman in Afghanistan” and compared to democratic leaders such as Burmas Aung San Suu Kyi. Born in Afghanistans remote Farah Province, she grew up in refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan before returning to Afghanistan as a social activist and a teacher at underground girls schools during the Talibans reign. In 2003 she was elected to Afghanistans constitutional assembly and, two years later, was the youngest person elected to Afghanistans new Parliament, a post from which she was suspended in 2007 for her regular denunciation of the countrys warlords and their cronies in government.