Behind the Burqa: Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom

by Batya Swift Yasgur

Book Overview

Advance Praise for Behind the Burqa

"Whenever and wherever adults make war, children die and women are subjected to fear and humiliation. This is true of Afghanistan too. Read this harrowing book. The tragic yet heroic tale of two women is told with great simplicity. They will haunt you."
-Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

"The stories of Sulima and Hala achingly articulate the twin and enduring legacies of misogyny and violence...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471263893
• ISBN13: 9780471263890
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Wiley (TP)
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A glimpse into two horrific lives

I read a negative review on here, that I was unhappy to see. This book focuses on "Salima" and "Hala" two Afghani sisters, both opressed by different wars and regimes at different times in Afghanistan. They are 16 years apart. Reading that Salima had a "pampered life" in one of the reviews was quite disturbing to me. Considering that she fought for women's rights underground in a country that supressed them, that she was house bound and beat by an abusive father, Locked into her room and then threatened with guns by her brother, I would hardly call this a "pampered life". She continued to risk for the women she served. Later the book focuses on her horribly physical abusive relationship with her husband. This is also part of the culture, where it is considered "okay" to beat a woman. Her heroism and story was amazing. Hala, 16 years younger suffered a completely different type of abuse, under the mujaheedin and then the rule of the Taliban. After being beat and her life threatened she had to flee and claim political assylum in the United States. This book was so heart felt and thought provoking, that for two nights I have stayed up until 4 in the morning reading. I say it is a "must read".

Suspenseful, Informative and very Current

This book is a powerful account of two brave sisters and their fight for human rights in a fundamentalist society, both for themselves and for other Afghan women. The two sisters hold divergent views of Islam and between them, create a balanced perspective that helped me sort out the true religion from the corruption of the religion by fanatics. As a feminist with a strong interest in world religions, I felt I got a fair insight into the many ways one can regard Islam. It's rare for a book to combine chair-gripping suspense and important new insights and I highly recommend BEHIND THE BURQA to people of both genders and all religious backgrounds and affiliations.

Reading this book was both a pleasure and a responsibility.

On behalf of these sisters from Afghanistan, Batya Swift Yasgur writes with a brilliant pen, a compassionate heart, and the desire to facilitate desperately needed social change. Each in turn, the sisters speak of what life was like in Afghanistan, both before and after the institution of the Taliban regime: before, their worries were few and their joys plentiful; after, they were subjugated, oppressed, bullied, beaten. They speak of their friends and family members killed at the hands of a cruel government, of women who took their lives to escape, of not being able to walk outdoors for fear of punishment or even death, of being attacked in their own home. I cried as I read, and my heart broke for them. Reading this book was both a pleasure and a responsibility. After what these women have survived, after what Afghan women are still experiencing, we owe it to them to listen.

COMPELLING, CONSUMING AND EDUCATIONAL

I attend a college with a very strong emphasis on women's rights so I picked up this book with a great deal of interest. I learned so much about the history of the women's rights movement in Afghanistan. I also learned about other human rights issues, such as what happens to persecuted people seeking asylum in the US. There's a really great "How to help" section if you want to get involved with these issues. But the best part of the book was how incredibly suspenseful it was. I was totally consumed by it. It's one of the best books I've seen for years and everyone who's read it has totally loved it.

Gripping and suspenseful reading

Wow! I couldn't put this book down. These two sisters are amazing people and each has her own unique personality and style--their story held me pinned to the edge of my chair from beginning to end. It read like a suspense novel, but it also informed me about conditions in Afghanistan as well as conditions for immigrants right here in this country. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's the best of all the Afghan memoirs, both in terms of suspense and in terms of the historical breadth covered. Sulima and Hala, if you're reading this, I am in awe of both of you.