Welcome!
It's a month to be thankful, for both an outpouring of compelling work from our Afghan women writers, and the inspiring support we've received from blog readers. The Afghan women, writing in three online workshops, continue to produce stunning pieces. A few are highlighted below, including a poem about a burqa and one about Kandahar schooldays, the first part of a series of essays from a former refugee, and an essay about a meeting with President Karzai. In the coming days, the women will be writing their impressions of their country's mood following the cancelled runoff elections, and we'll be posting those in a timely fashion, so keep an eye on the blog.
On this side of the world, one-of-a-kind storyteller and author Janis Owens
turned a book-signing into a fundraiser for AWWP and provided for the purchase
of a laptop in concert with best-selling author Cassandra King.
International journalist, author and teacher Barbara Fischkin
took one of our writers, visiting the U.S., into her home and exposed her to a
bit of Long Island. It feels like a community in creation. See Janis's report
below and click here for Barbara's report.
How can you help? First, by reading
the pieces on the blog and commenting about any you like. Secondly, by
circulating this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in any of
these three "w"s: women, writing or our world. Finally, if you're able,
tax-deductible financial donations of any size go directly toward helping each
of these women get a laptop so they can work from home - our goal due to security
concerns.
With gratitude, Masha Hamilton
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My Sister's Golden Hair
The principal arrived holding Malia by the arm, and
accompanied by four Talib police. Her face was white and she was crying silently.
Her clothes were bloody.
By Roya
Click here to read the full story.
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Refugee Camp in Holland -
Part One
"No one will never ever leave their motherland and chose another country. It
is like replacing your mother with another. No one will prefer another mother,
even if this mother is kinder, nicer and richer than your own mom. Believe me,
sir, we are not here because your country is nice, modern and rich. I love my
destroyed country more than Europe."
By Elay
Click here to read the full story.
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The Burqa
 Swinging right and
left, the burqa remained wondering whose face would it hide? Whose identity
would it take?
By Meena
Click here to read the full story.
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A Meeting With President Karzai
He considered my name and
said in a friendly tone, "So you are Pashtun as well." "My father is," I answered respectfully. "I am Afghan."
By Meena
Click here to read the full story.
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The Scent of Sweet Honey
She looked at me, smiling,
and answered with three words: "By his smell." I started laughing out loud.
Then she explained and I listened as if she were telling me a fairytale.
By Aisha
Click here to read the full story.
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Winter School Days in Kandahar
The arrival of
winter reminds me of those rainy days when I was going to school
Sleepless from the
cold nights and the tup-tup sound of
raindrops leaking from the roof
Cold air through
the broken windows waking me up from my warm bed
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A Word From Our Teachers
Susan Breen's award-winning first novel was published in 2008. Her short stories have been
published widely, most recently by the anthology 2009 Best American Non-Required Reading. She teaches fiction writing for Gotham
Writers' Workshop.
Their stories pop into my email at all hours. I open them
and they begin: "Hello dear Susan" and immediately I'm smiling. Although many
of the essays are about dark topics-loss of loved ones, hunger, fear-the women
writing these stories are bright and amazingly joyful. They're also angry and
courageous, but what touches me is how open they are to sharing their work. I
expected these Afghan women to have more of a protective shell, but instead
they're willing to be vulnerable and write down their honest thoughts.
In the first exercise I posted, I asked the women to write
about their hopes. To help them shape their writing I posted a lovely paragraph
from Amy Tan's novel, The Joy Luck Club.
In that, a woman recalls her mother's dreams about the city of Kweilin. The response to the exercise
was beautiful, and one of my favorite essays was by a woman who described a
peaceful scene of Afghanistan in the snow. At the end of her essay she imagined a "Snow Partridge sitting on the dry branches of olive tree
covered with pure white snow singing sola, sola and sola (peace, peace and
peace.)" This has been a very
inspiring experience.
Kris Ohlson is the author of the award-winning memoir, Stalking the Divine, and she co-authored Kabul Beauty School. She is also a freelance journalist and essay writer
whose work has been published in New York Times newspaper and
magazine, Salon, Ms, Oprah, More, and many other publications.
The news
coming from Afghanistan is so dark these days. I think it's hard for many
Americans to figure out the best macro approach-the military, financial,
political and so on formulas that will make this terrible "situation" better.
That's one of the reasons that I enjoyed working with these writers from
Afghanistan; I'm sure it's one of the pleasures for readers, too. Here are the
voices of real women with a gift for language and story, and they personalize a
country and a people that most Americans just associate with the
"situation." Their voices delight, inspire, and put a human heart on
the headlines.
Janis Owens is the
author of three acclaimed novels set in West Florida and, most recently, a
much-loved cookbook memoir, The Cracker Kitchen:
I spring from a long line of hardy women warriors-Southern
church women who were never slow in the face of need, and quick to champion a
worthy cause. They spent their lives baking pound cakes for missionaries,
finding coats for the homeless, and ladling out love to neighborhood children.
My dear friend Cassandra King is of the same ilk, and when we heard the details of the Afghan Women's Writing
Project, our Southern hearts leapt in our chests. Here was a golden opportunity
to reach across culture and half a globe to help give an Afghan sister a voice
in this world; an authentic, woman's voice, from a culture where women's voices
are not so often heard. I happened to have a signing at a dear friend's house
in the tiny town of Newberry, Florida, and turned it into a fundraiser for
AWWP. The same friends who'd raised their children in village with mine-nurses,
teachers, and a farmer's wife-bought my books in support of this laptop. We
laughed while we did it-there was a great sense of joy and destiny. We all have
daughters ourselves, and in helping a woman find a voice, we help all our
daughters find theirs. Cassandra and I went in on a "group gift" and send our
blessing with it: that the recipient will be strong and prolific and brave;
that her voice will sing across the broadband.
From Newsday: The Power of Journalism
"When I leave in the morning, I always make sure to say
goodbye," Seeta told other students in her Hofstra class earlier Monday
evening. "I don't know if I will be coming back."
By Joye Brown
Click here to read the full article.
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Contact AWWP:
For more information on the Afghan Women's Writing Project please contact:
The Afghan Women's Writing ProjectMasha Hamilton, Project Founder
686 Sterling Place Brooklyn, New York 11216
Phone: 917.821.6119 / Email: masha@mashahamilton.com
The Afghan Women's Writing Project was begun as a way to allow the voices of Afghan women - too often silenced - to enter the world directly, without any mediation. This project is possible only because of the outstanding American women authors and teachers who generously donate their time and energy. Additionally, the tireless contributions of webmaster extraordinaire Jeff Lyons, web designer Rose Daniels and our technical director Terry Dougherty have been crucial. Photography thanks and credit goes to Kathleen Rafiq and Heidi Levine. Our inspiring partners are SOLA and the Peter M. Goodrich Memorial Foundation; please visit their websites.
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Donations:
Online Donations for Afghan Women Writers:
Many of our
students and women writers, especially outside of Kabul, cannot get to an
Internet cafe due to security considerations. A laptop at home and a jump drive
would allow them to write their pieces, and then ask a male relative to send
the work at an Internet cafe. A $20 donation will buy a flash drive and $500 in
donations will buy a laptop for our women writers. No contribution is too
small. Thank you for considering it.
Your tax deductible credit card donation will be handled by The Goodrich
Foundation's secure Paypal payment.
Click This Link To Make A Donation!
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To stay informed about the latest news, events, and other developments with the Afghan Women's Writing Project, please CLICK below and join our mailing list. We appreciate your support.
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Sponsors & Friends:
Please visit our sponsors as a way to thank them for their wonderful support:
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