Afghan Women's Writing Project

Brothers

The elderly women of our country often say: “Having one son means having nothing; two sons equals half a son; three sons equals one son.” By this they mean that one son is likely to die in war, and a second to die young, but at least a third son will survive to support his family. The day my brother was born, I remember the elderly women saying I didn’t yet have a brother since I had only one. We regularly prayed to Allah to give us another brother, so at least we could have half a brother.

Always a Hand to Wipe Tears

I am from a land of bravery and beauty / A land surrounded by blue and silver mountains / A land where rivers searched and found their path in dignity / A land where poverty increases daily / Where death is cheaper than life / Where children die before they are born

1-2-3

But my ear’s / heart breaks / When I hear, “The number you have dialed is unreachable” / I redial / One, two, three / But it doesn’t work

AWWP’s Freshta Awarded BlogHer Scholarship

The AWWP is very proud to announce that AWWP participant Freshta is one of four women bloggers who have been awarded the Second Annual International Activist BlogHer Scholarship. As part of the scholarship, Freshta will present selected pieces of her work this summer in New York City before other international bloggers.

I Am From…

I am from my father’s “lion” daughters / From feeling I have the ability of a boy in Afghanistan / From wanting to do anything I want to
and not caring what people say

Educated Afghans: Return!

Who can solve these problems? Of course, the government. Who can help government? Of course, we Afghans must start taking action. I make a friendly request to all educated Afghans who live in Western countries to take the initiative. We need educated Afghans to come back to their motherland and help those helpless people. I know life is terrible in Afghanistan. The West is full of luxuries. Afghanistan is a poor country. The lifestyle is underprivileged. But we have to sacrifice for something we adore. If we want to create a safe life for the next generation, we have to sacrifice to come live among our people, take their hands and show them the right way. We have a saying in Afghanistan: “When you are stable and secure, take the hand of the one who has fallen and help him/her to stand up.”

Spring

When you come, / Nature wears green clothes. / Grasses raise their necks, / Plants birth flowers, / Fruitful trees bear fruit. / Nightingales sing, / ‘Welcome spring.’

Winter Day, 2008

The day is cold, too cold, cloudy. / I wash the dishes, clean the house. / It is the tenth of Muharam, the day of the sorrow ceremony, / The day my mother and I will distribute rice / To the poorest ones. / My first time. We go there, among the women

Once Upon a Time

When angry clouds appear in the sky, I close my eyes and remember my childhood. I start from today and then I go back, back, back. I see the light and I see bright moments, light seconds.

Bright moments of my childhood passed with my cousin Sedeqa.

Socks and Vaseline

My neighbors are poor, very poor. Their mother-in-law was not well. She had a sickness that made her legs ache. To help relieve the ache, her daughter-in-law made a special Vaseline-based salve. She then put socks on her mother-in-law’s legs to help the mixture penetrate.