Afghan Women: Identity and Invasion

Elaheh Rostami-Povey

Jul 2013 · Zed Books Ltd.

About this ebook

Through years of Taliban oppression, during the US-led invasion and the current insurgency, women in Afghanistan have played a hugely symbolic role. This book looks at how women have fought repression and challenged stereotypes, both within Afghanistan and in diasporas in Iran, Pakistan, the US and the UK. Looking at issues from violence under the Taliban and the impact of 9/11 to the role of NGOs and the growth in the opium economy, Rostami-Povey gets behind the media hype and presents a vibrant and diverse picture of these women's lives. The future of women's rights in Afghanistan, she argues, depends not only on overcoming local male domination, but also on challenging imperial domination and blurring the growing divide between the West and the Muslim world. Ultimately, these global dynamics may pose a greater threat to the freedom and autonomy of women in Afghanistan and throughout the world.

About the author

Elaheh Rostami-Povey is a lecturer in development studies at SOAS, University of London. Her research focuses on gender issues in Iran and Afghanistan. She is the author of Women, Work and Islamism: Ideology and Resistance in Iran (1999), which was published under her pen name Maryam Poya. This book was then translated into Farsi and published in Iran in 2001 under her own name.