My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women

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This book is more than just a literary project....For most of these writers, even finding the space and peace of mind to write is a daily struggle. Literature is resilience, a release. Engage with the public and civil society. We hold events, bringing stakeholders and the public together with politicians, academics and think-tanks. We also offer presentations and talks to universities and interest groups on the role of the EP Eighteen Afghan women living in, speaking about, and writing from the country itselftell stories that are powerful and illuminating, unique and universal – stories of family, work, childhood, friendship, war, gender identity, and cultural traditions.

It's worth noting that these stories were written before the Taliban returned to power. So no matter what atrocities and struggles are mentioned in this anthology, things are even worse now. For safety reasons, there's no personal information about the writers, a few of whom have chosen to write under pen names. This makes the title even more ironic and poignant, as their pens truly are the wings through which these writers have soared in their thoughts. Some might see this optimism as the “masses’ opium”, but it takes a lot of courage to show up hopeful when the world around you is in disarray. Afghan women display this courage in their fight against societal and external misogyny sold to them as emancipation. Most of the stories especially squash that 'in-need-of-saving' tag that Afghan women have had to deal with for so long. Blossom also highlights the power of love to inspire and drive people even in the worst of situations. In contrast, What Are Friends For reminds us that humans are ultimately capable of horrible things in hard situations. Work with the media. We keep them updated with stories from Brussels and Strasbourg, answer queries, hold press briefings and offer journalists the chance to visit the EP. We also correct lies and fake news, and have an active social media presence

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A lady in white is watching you from far away. You stand and return her gaze – how much she resembles your mother! You walk through the carnage, the piles of fallen cement and pieces of metal. She is gone. Among the human flesh and blood, you see a wrist adorned with golden bracelets lying on the floor. The arm, severed at the elbow, full of blood, is shining from afar because of the bracelets. Perform a liaison function for the EP with the Westminster and devolved parliaments. We help organize high-level visits by delegations of MEPs to the UK, and we follow the work of relevant British parliamentary committees With an Introduction by BBC Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet and an Afterword by Lucy Hannah. It’s important to us that ideas and debate are affordable to everyone. It’s also important that our commentators, artists, writers, poets and thinkers are paid. This is a Pay What You Can event. You are invited to choose your own contribution to the event. A free option is available. All proceeds go towards supporting our speakers and sustaining Bristol Ideas.

My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is a landmark collection: the first anthology of short fiction by Afghan women. Eighteen writers tell stories that are both unique and universal - stories of family, work, childhood, friendship, war, gender identity and cultural traditions. I Don't Have the Flying Wings, My Pillow's Journey of Eleven Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Kilometers, Ajah, Blossom and Haska's Decision all stood out to me the most. Reading the epigraph made me excited to start the stories and clearly outlined the power of this book: My pen is the wing of a bird; it will tell you those thoughts we are not allowed to think, those dreams we are not allowed to dream” In “Ajah” by Fatema Khavari (translated from the Dari by Dr. Zubair Popalzai), a woman motivates the other women in the village to band together to dig ditches to save their village from flooding. When I see her, I understand why women are called siah sar. She represents the true sense of the word: one who is destined for darkness.”

TRENDING NOW

This book is the culmination of that two-year project: the first anthology of short stories by Afghan women, written in the languages Dari and Pashton, and translated by Afghan translators. Running through several stories is a sense of loneliness, how a war situation adds another dimension to endemic volatility under Taliban rule, it really affects individuals. How solace can be found in pets and animal connections, and how disappearing into imagination is a relief from the world around. In another story, Sandals, a woman beseeches her husband to get their daughter new shoes. In response, the husband laments that he doesn’t even have enough to get shoes for the sons. My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird is a landmark collection: the first anthology of short fiction by Afghan women. Eighteen writers tell stories that are both unique and universal – stories of family, work, childhood, friendship, war, gender identity and cultural traditions. As always, I rated the stories individually. Of the twenty-three stories, ten stories reached or crossed the 4-star mark, and most of the rest were clustered around the 3-star rating. Here are my favourites, with 4.5 stars and above: