"This book is a collection of interviews with forty courageous Afghan women, including teachers, Olympians, soldiers, and journalists," Managing Editor Whitney Hallberg said. "They discuss what their lives were like during the Taliban rule, and what they are doing now that they have some freedom back. Beautiful photos, probing questions, and revealing comments make this a truly remarkable book."
SLJ Presents the Best Adult Books for High School Students 2008
HEIDLER, Scott. Women of Courage: Intimate Stories from Afghanistan.
photos by Katherine Kiviat. Gibbs Smith. Tr $19.95.
ISBN 978-1-4236-0253-8. A journalist and a photographer profile 40
Afghan women working to transform their lives since the fall of the
Taliban in 2001, giving American teens an immediate and compelling
window into life as it is forced to be lived elsewhere.
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1. FTW SPEAKS WITH KATHERINE KIVIAT AND SCOTT HEIDLER
Women of Courage: Intimate Stories from Afghanistan (Gibbs Smith, 978-1-4236-0253-8) is the first book by photographer Katherine Kiviat and journalist Scott Heidler. The couple interviewed forty women, including a teacher, a pilot, and an Olympic athlete, about what their lives were like during the Taliban’s rule and how things have changed for them since 2001.
Was there a particular experience or person who inspired you to put together this book, Women of Courage?
The stories of all the forty women in the book are inspirational, nearly beyond words. But there is one family who has been involved with the project from day one and was a large part of why we decided to put the book together.
We met the Akbars because one of middle daughters, Zubaida, was a photojournalism student of Katherine’s. The family seemed to represent the transformation of the Afghan women. The mother (also in the book) was sacrificing for her daughters so they could become educated and live a better life. Zubaida and her older sister Shaharzad (both ended up being interns on the book and are also in the book) were trailblazing and stretching the boundaries of what Afghan women were thought to be able to do.
The Akbar family so represented the idea of how Afghan women could improve themselves and their situation, we dedicated the book to the youngest Akbar daughter, Parwana. We did this because it’s her generation that will have the opportunity to flourish because of what the older generations of Afghan women and girls are doing now.
How did you get in touch with the women you interviewed?
A good chunk of the initial Women of Courage came from Katherine’s work as a photojournalism teacher. Her students pointed us in the direction of many interesting women.
Once the ball started rolling, we asked each interviewee who they admired and then interviewed them. Word spread of what we were doing and we started getting calls from friends who, without asking, started suggesting women. This worked out very well as we wanted women from all walks of life: teachers, artists, homemakers, politicians, athletes, etc.
What was the attitude the women had about participating in your interviews? Frightened? Proud? Empowered?
A combination of all--fear, pride, and empowerment. Mainly because if they did not have that certain characteristic or did not experience fear, they would not have taken the risk to get where there are today. Be it a huge and public risk, like running for president, or much more personal risk, like leaving the house without wearing a burka.
What did you hope to accomplish by writing this book?
At first our goal was to educate the women of Afghanistan about what their fellow countrywomen were doing to improve their lives, the lives of the women in their community, and for all Afghan women. Once we launched the project and realized how courageous these women were and how inspirational their actions were, we felt compelled to bring their stories to a wider audience. This, while at the same time, educating women across the world what life was like for women in Afghanistan by hearing their stories as they told them.
Had either of you ever written or contributed to a book before?
No this was our first venture in publishing. Scott has been a journalist for years, but the first time writing a book.
What was the most difficult part about creating this book?
The most difficult part of the project was knowing when the book was complete. Each story were heard, each woman we met, had a story we felt needed to be told.
How was your experience working with Gibbs Smith?
Gibbs Smith was great to work with. They took a risk on this project with us as we had never published a book before. They were very interested in the cause and saw the need to get these stories out there. As you can imagine, this became a labor of love for us because of our intimate interaction with these women. It really drew us in. As a publisher Gibbs Smith recognized that and gave us the space we needed, but also kept us in line when we were getting too “inside-baseball.”
After years of Taliban rule and a violent liberation, what kind of dangers and challenges still exist for the people of Afghanistan, and for women in particular?
Unfortunately, a great deal of the same problems that have plagued the women of Afghanistan for decades still exist: rape, forced marriages, domestic violence, poor health care, and kidnappings. Three of the “Women of Courage” were killed or died within a year after the project was finished in the exact ways were fighting to change. A helicopter pilot died in childbirth, a women’s rights official was assassinated, and a TV music show host was murdered in what was believed to be an ‘honor killing’ for the way she carried herself in her show.
Do you keep in contact with any of the women in the book? What are they doing today?
We are in constant contact with the Akbar family and particularly the two sisters who served as our interns. They are now studying abroad, one at Smith College in the US and one at a high school in Switzerland. In fact, we just saw one of them just after we moved back to the region this month. She was making her way home to Kabul for summer break.
Katherine also keeps in touch with another photojournalism student who is now attending school in Canada.
What can people do to help women of the world who are repressed, as these women were?
The most important thing is exposure. If their stories are not told, if their faces remain hidden, the world cannot react. It’s also crucial to get the word out so that other women in similar situations know that they are not alone. We hope the stories of the women in this book will help educate the ninth grader in Seattle about what it’s like to be a teenager in Kabul, but we also hope it teaches the factory worker in an abusive marriage in Egypt that she is not alone and that there is a women in Afghanistan like her who is fighting to change her life.
"Kiviat and Heidler take you on a journey through the lives of Afghan policewomen, paratroopers, artists, actresses, and scores of others who for too long have remained hidden under the burqa. The ghosts have emerged and at this moment, they are triumphant. This is a beautiful book."
Marie Brenner, Author, "Great Dames: What I Learned From Older Women"
JERUSALEM -- The world remembers the stomach-turning television news images of innocent Afghan women executed in the Kabul stadium, and the stories of women being beaten in the streets of Afghanistan for infractions that seem frivolous to a Westerner -- letting their hair be seen or leaving their family compound without permission. The world remembers the quick overthrow of the Taliban just months after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the new images of free Afghan women rushing to beauty salons to coif their hair, and little girls wearing crisp new uniforms streaming into classrooms - the first time for most of them going to lessons outside underground, secret schools. But what is the situation like now for the women of Afghanistan after the world's attention has left?
In Women of Courage: Intimate Stories from Afghanistan ($19.95; Hardcover; September 2007), photojournalist Katherine Kiviat and Fox News Middle East Correspondent Scott Heidler offer a new glimpse of the true stories and incredible work Afghan women are doing to push for continued reform and maintain the freedoms they have so recently won back.
With the courage of Afghan heroines from many walks of life -- privileged/poor, educated/simple, athletic/disabled, politically connected/rural, self-promoting/motherly -- change is taking flight. It is here, in the pages of Women of Courage, where compelling photographs and unfiltered interviews will allow you to look into the eyes and read the words of some of these heroines. From a Bread Maker to a Presidential Candidate, a University Student to a Bee Keeper, and a Fortune Teller to an Afghan National Army Helicopter Pilot, these women are all agents of change in their future, in their country, trying to make a better tomorrow for themselves and their daughters..
Katherine Kiviat is a Middle-East based documentary photographer and photojournalist who, for almost three years, based herself in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she completed the Afghan version of the book called Parwana, with Heidler. Kiviat has worked for numerous international publications, including Fortune, Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times Magazine. Scott Heidler is a Middle East Correspondent for Fox News TV and Radio. Over his 10-year journalism career he has reported and produced for CNN, the National Geographic Channel, SKY News (UK), CBC (Canada), New York Daily News and The Times of London. They are presently based in Jerusalem and New York.
Founded in 1969, Gibbs Smith, Publisher specializes in beautifully illustrated lifestyle books, with topics including photography, design and architecture, cooking, business, and our children's category, featuring the celebrated Sierra Club Books for Children series. Our mission is to produce books that enrich and inspire humankind the world over. Additional inspiring titles from Gibbs Smith, Publisher include Humankind and Built by Hand.
Pre-launch praise for Women of Courage
"What has changed for the women of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban? In their own words and illustrated with some beautiful photographs, dozens of Afghan women, old and young, lift the veil on the reality. There are some inspiring stories of hope here. But many that show how hard it still is to be a woman in Afghanistan, especially in rural areas. It's written and photographed by two very committed journalists who took the time to get to know Afghanistan well. The story of the teacher who told her female students to keep quiet about their vote to throw off their burkhas - even though she supported them - sums up the situation for women in Afghanistan today. The teacher feared the parents would stop their daughters from coming to lessons." Andrew North, BBC Afghanistan Correspondent 2004-2005
"In Women of Courage Scott and Katherine have given a voice to the girls and women of Afghanistan while providing the reader with a glimpse into an unknown world. Knowing them when they lived in Afghanistan, I experienced first-hand the impact they had on Afghan women and the positive energy they brought to the book and a to struggling nation. I would recommend this book as a visually stunning and inspiring first step for all of us on the journey to better understand the courageous women of Afghanistan." Debbie Rodriguez Author, The Kabul Beauty School
"A vital look beneath the veil at women who had temporarily lost their voices during the darkest days of Taliban rule. They reemerge from their forced purdah (from their 'cocoon') more beautiful than ever - their tales more urgent as Afghanistan continues to fight for its future." Jennifer Griffin, Fox News' National Security Correspondent
