Gathering Strength:. Peggy Kelsey

and worldview. I acknowledge that the lens through which I view the world has left its imprint on this book despite the efforts I have made to see beyond it.

      Guide to reading this book

      Conversations in this book take place in different imaginary rooms set aside for certain broad topics, and the women in each room speak to that topic. Dialogues flow according to themes that evolved as I revisited their stories. Compared to mass media reports, Gathering Strength presents a more nuanced, expanded view of Afghan women, and by extension of women everywhere. I interviewed a cross-section of Afghans from the capital, Kabul; some provincial cities; and some villages. Women from different age groups, income and educational levels, social classes, and ethnicities shared their concerns. The conversational format allows me to show many issues and perspectives within and among groups of women. My own story is a bridge that may enable readers to see the world through my eyes, and then those of my respondents.

      Because of the number and variety of women and the situations in which I interviewed them, the book has a complex format. For the most part, the women in each chapter are introduced at its beginning, and the conversation begins with the last woman introduced and flows to the others. I play two roles in each chapter. The first role entails posing questions to help guide the interview. In the second role, I work to help clarify the answers and provide additional context to help the reader better synthesize the information. My questions appear in italics, my commentary in plain text.

      Some women appear more than once in the book. To easily find other chapters where each woman speaks, I’ve listed in bold typeface the first names of all my interviewees in the Index.

      The book has two Glossaries. The first includes definitions for Dari, Pashtu, Arabic, and a few other words. These are italicized in the text and definitions are provided there or in endnotes if used only once, or in the Glossary if used more often.

      The second glossary lists many of the prominent and obscure individuals, locations, and organizations mentioned by women with whom I spoke, with an often-bewildering array of acronyms. Those mentioned only once are described in endnotes for the chapters where they appear. Those mentioned more than once appear in boldface when first mentioned and are included in the Glossary of People, Places, and Organizations. Each group’s internet link, at time of publication, is provided where available.

      In Focus sections highlight women who made one or two important points in our conversations that didn’t fit well into other chapters. In two longer chapters, I interviewed individual women whose years of involvement in Afghans' struggles have given them a great deal to say.

      The annotated Bibliography consists of books that I’ve read and recommend to others. Authors whose names are in bold typeface in the endnotes are included in the Bibliography.

      To help readers keep the women in each chapter in mind, panels of small photos on the left hand side of each two-page spread identify women in that chapter.

      Shaded tabs along the outer page margins highlight the Glossaries and other Appendices

      Guide to reading the e-book

      Italicized foreign words (unless they are explained in nearby text) are linked to the glossary. Bolded words are linked to the Glossary of People and Organizations. Numbered notes are linked to the Notes section. The women's names in the conversations within each chapter are all linked to the woman's introduction in that chapter. Picture sizes can be increased by double tapping the image and then tapping along the top of the reader to return to the text.

      Welcome, now, to my "salon." Like a fly on the wall, you will observe Afghan women engaging in virtual conversations with each other and with me. Although separated by time and space, groups of women come together to share their stories and perspectives on social activism, creating their arts, doing business, living as refugees, practicing Islam, playing sports, looking to the future, and much more. Their remarks may surprise you.

      A luncheon gathering at the home of Muslimat in Kunduz.

      In Focus: Sana

      Sana

      Everyone looked at me. They said, "She’s disabled and she’s coming outside!" In Afghanistan, disabled girls don’t go outside, not even to go to school or take courses.

      Every afternoon, 15-year-old Sana hobbled into my room at the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) guest house on her crutches, to tell me about her day. A whirlwind of energy and delight, she talked a mile a minute, her face expressing all of the drama in any story she shared. She had a beautiful singing voice and was very proud of her part in a promotional video for Solace for the Children.

      Sana was born in Kabul and went to Pakistan when she was very young. At nine, she was diagnosed with polio, and suddenly lost her ability to walk. When she and her family returned to Afghanistan, she got crutches from the Red Crescent and resumed her studies. One winter afternoon, Ted Achilles, SOLA’s founder, saw her fall, get up, fall again, and get up again, and he invited the determined young woman into his program. Since then she has traveled to the US with Solace for the Children for life-saving operations. She returned to the US in 2011 for more operations and a year of university preparation. Now she is studying at the American University of Afghanistan.

      Peggy: What is it like for a disabled person in Afghanistan?

      Sana: It is very sad and lonely to be disabled here. When I first couldn’t walk with my legs, I walked with my hands, but I was always left at home when my family went out to weddings or parties. I stayed home and talked with the walls; I talked with spoons; I talked with anything.

      When we came back to Afghanistan, my mother took me to the Red Crescent and they gave me some crutches. My family agreed that I could go to school and I was so excited! I went to class and sat in an empty chair. Then the teacher called me to the front of the room and told me that since I was disabled I didn’t need to come to school. I cried, but she wouldn’t let me stay. My brother said I could come to school, so I went back the next day, and she sent me home again. I kept going back every day, and finally the teacher took me to the principal’s office. I told the principal that if she didn’t want me in school, then I would go to the Ministry of Education. She said that I should be allowed to come.

      After a year, I decided to take an English course. It was very hard because it would take me an hour to go from my house to the street where I could catch the bus. At the bus stop, it was very crowded and people pushed me. When it was winter, I kept falling on the ice. When I would fall, it hurt and I would cry, and small boys would laugh at me and throw stones. But I kept going and I was top of my class.

      Peggy: Are there any schools or organizations to help disabled people in Kabul?

      Sana: There is the Community Center for the Disabled (CCD),¹ but I don’t know of any others besides the Red Crescent.

      Peggy: Those with physical or mental disabilities, especially women, children, and the elderly, face negative social stigmas that often result in their being hidden away at home. A dozen or so organizations provide services, but due to lack of funding they only reach a small percentage of those who need assistance.

      When